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

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stockpiled three high in areas that people regularly accessed and a lack of safe segregation between vehicle movements and pedestrian routes. The employer had been subject to earlier enforcement for similar skip stockpiling and collapse risks, yet did not address the issues identified by HSE.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE site visit, inspectors observed vehicles operating freely around the yard, including tipper lorries and loading shovels, while the pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked. Pedestrians were instead forced to use the same route used by lorries and other vehicles, with no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after changes to the site layout, including failure to address pedestrian movements such as access to toilets. HSE also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and piled three high in places. The stacking increased the likelihood of collapse or falling, and skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a high risk that fallen skips could cause death or serious personal injury.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a). It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and after further concerns and a later visit, improvement notices were served requiring remedial action within a specified timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians from vehicle movements. Plan and maintain clear pedestrian routes and crossing points so pedestrians do not have to use the same circulation areas as lorries and other vehicles.

Keep traffic management plans usable and current. A visual traffic plan is only effective if staff and visitors can see it and it reflects the current site layout and key pedestrian movements.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse. Treat skip stockpiling as a stability risk, especially where skips are heavy, deformed, or stacked in multiple tiers, and prevent access to areas where a collapse could reach people.

Use additional precautions for vehicle reversing and mixed traffic. Where large vehicles need to reverse or operate around others, implement additional measures to protect anyone working nearby rather than relying on general site arrangements.

Act promptly on enforcement and address root causes. Earlier enforcement related to stockpiling does not remove legal duties; improvement measures must be effective and sustained, not just implemented to satisfy notices.

HSE Prosecution Link