Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas regularly used by workers and pedestrians being routed through vehicle access without effective segregation. The employer was previously subject to enforcement action relating to stockpiling and collapse risks, yet the same type of serious risk was found again.

What Was The Incident?

At an HSE inspection in August 2022, vehicles such as tipper lorries and loading shovels were found moving freely around the site. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. There were no designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to segregate pedestrians from vehicles. A traffic plan existed but was not visible to staff or visitors and had become out of date after changes to the site layout, including access across the yard to toilets. HSE also found skips unsafely stacked, with some deformed, making them more unstable, and stacked three high in places. The height and instability increased the likelihood of collapse or falling, and the skips were positioned in areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE also previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were served after further concerns were identified.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate people and vehicles with effective site layout. Organise the workplace so pedestrians and vehicles can circulate safely, with designated pedestrian routes and crossing points that prevent people being forced to use vehicle access.

Keep traffic management information current and usable. A traffic plan is not enough if it is not visible to those on site and does not reflect the current configuration, including key pedestrian movements such as access to welfare facilities.

Control skip and waste stacking to prevent collapse and falling. Where skips are large and heavy, stack them in a way that prevents instability, including managing deformation and ensuring stack height does not create an increased collapse or falling risk.

Avoid placing unstable loads in areas regularly used by people. Do not site stacked skips in locations regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicles, since this greatly increases the consequences if items fall or collapse.

Respond to previous enforcement with lasting operational change. If enforcement action has previously identified similar duties, use it to drive and verify effective corrective measures so risks are not repeated after site changes and without ongoing control checks.

HSE Prosecution Link