Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high, pedestrian routes that were not properly segregated from vehicle movements, and a traffic plan that was not visible or up to date. The employer had previously been subject to enforcement action, making the repeated risk control failures particularly concerning.

What Was The Incident?

HSE visited the site and observed vehicles including tipper lorries and loading shovels moving around the yard, while pedestrian access was constrained because the pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked. Pedestrians had to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles, without effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. The employer had a visual traffic plan but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after changes to the site layout, including access across the yard to toilets. HSE also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed skips, and stacked three high in places. The stack height and instability increased the likelihood of collapse or falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a significant risk of falling objects.

What Was The Outcome?

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

Key Points To Consider

Ensure pedestrians and vehicles are properly segregated. Do not route pedestrians along the same paths as vehicles, especially where reversing and vehicle movements are frequent, and provide clear designated routes and crossing arrangements.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling objects. Stacking skips in busy work areas with sufficient stability is essential, and increased stack height or damaged skips significantly raises the risk of collapse or items falling.

Keep site traffic arrangements visible and current. A traffic plan that is not visible to people on site or that has become out of date after changes to site configuration can leave workers relying on unsafe assumptions.

Learn from previous enforcement and act promptly. If the organisation has previously received enforcement action for stockpiling or collapse risks, it must treat subsequent findings as repeat failure and strengthen controls rather than assume progress.

Use risk based measures for high consequence hazards. Where large items could fall or collapse with potentially catastrophic outcomes, employers must implement effective precautions for everyone who might be near the hazard, not just those directly operating equipment.

HSE Prosecution Link