Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stockpiled up to three high in areas used by workers and pedestrians being routed through a vehicle entrance with no effective segregation. The employer had a traffic plan that was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after site changes. Following earlier enforcement action for similar skip stockpiling risks, the employer pleaded guilty to offences and was fined.

What Was The Incident?

HSE visited a waste and recycling site and observed vehicles and plant being driven around the yard without effective separation from pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so pedestrians had to use the vehicle entrance route used by lorries and other vehicles. There were no designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to manage pedestrian movements safely. HSE also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and stacked in places accessed regularly by workers on foot or in vehicles. In some locations the stack height was three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse and falling. HSE served improvement notices after these concerns, requiring action within a set timescale, and later found that the company had previously been subject to enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and collapse risks.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33 1 a of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. Enforcement action had already been taken previously through prohibition notices related to similar skip stockpiling and collapse risks.

Key Points To Consider

Prevent collapse risks from skip stacking. Ensure skips are stacked in a way that accounts for their size and weight, limits height where needed, and avoids placing them where workers or vehicles regularly pass so that falling risks are controlled.

Provide clear segregation between vehicles and pedestrians. Organise site transport so pedestrians and vehicles can circulate safely, including designated pedestrian routes and crossing points, rather than forcing pedestrians to use vehicle access areas.

Keep traffic plans current and usable. If you rely on a visual traffic plan, make sure it is visible to staff and visitors and updated to reflect site layout changes, including routes such as access across the yard to welfare facilities.

Act quickly on enforcement notice requirements. When improvement notices are served, implement the required actions within the specified timescales to remedy the specific breaches identified by the regulator.

Prior enforcement should drive stronger management systems. Use previous enforcement action relating to the same type of risk as a trigger to review and improve controls, because repeating similar failures can lead to more serious prosecution outcomes.

HSE Prosecution Link