Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Control

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failings at a waste and recycling site, including skips piled three high in areas used by workers and poor traffic management that left pedestrians and vehicles sharing routes. The employer was fined for putting people at risk of death or serious injury.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE site visit, inspectors observed vehicles and loading activity circulating around the site with no effective segregation of pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was secured, forcing people to use the same entrance route used by lorries and other vehicles. While the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including pedestrian movements to access toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformation increasing instability. In places the stack height was three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or items falling. Some of the skips were positioned in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences of failing to fulfil duties under health and safety law by putting employees, agency workers and other persons at risk of death and or serious personal injury. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. Improvement notices were issued requiring remedial action within a specified timescale, and HSE also found the employer had previously been subject to prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and collapse risks.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Ensure there are clear designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people are not forced to use vehicle routes, and review arrangements when access points or site use change.

Keep traffic management information current and usable. A traffic plan is not enough if it is not visible to staff and visitors and does not reflect the current site layout, including key pedestrian movements such as routes to welfare facilities.

Control skip stacking risks from height, condition, and location. Do not stack skips in a way that increases the chance of collapse or falling, and address instability caused by deformation, especially where stacks are close to areas regularly accessed by people.

Learn from enforcement history and act quickly. If previous enforcement has identified similar risks, treat it as a clear warning, update control measures promptly, and ensure actions required by notices are completed within timescales.

Assume serious consequences where heavy plant and materials are involved. Given the size and weight of skips, the potential outcome of any collapse is severe, so risk assessment should drive robust controls for storage, movement, and pedestrian protection.

HSE Prosecution Link