Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

The HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stockpiled three high, poor pedestrian vehicle separation, and traffic arrangements that were ineffective or out of date. The employer previously faced enforcement over stockpiling and collapse risks, which made the repeat failures particularly serious.

What Was The Incident?

On 11 August 2022, HSE inspectors observed vehicles and plant being driven around the site, while pedestrians were forced to use the vehicle route because the pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked. There was no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. The employer had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and did not reflect the site as configured, including routes needed to access toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, some deformed and piled up to three high in places. The stacking increased the likelihood of collapse and falling, and skips were stored in an area 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 for failing to fulfil duties under sections 2 and 3 by placing people on site at risk of death and serious personal injury. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. Improvement notices were served following the initial visit, and a further visit took place 11 days later to check compliance. HSE also noted that prohibition notices had previously been served in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles properly. Ensure pedestrians can move using designated routes and crossing points rather than being forced onto vehicle areas, and check that segregation arrangements work in practice across the full site layout.

Keep traffic plans visible and current. A traffic plan is only effective if it is visible to staff and visitors and updated when the site configuration changes, including routes used for routine access such as welfare facilities.

Control skip stacking to prevent collapse and falling. Treat skip stockpiling as a serious structural risk due to weight and consequences, and do not stack in locations where workers are regularly passing on foot or in vehicles.

Address deformed or unstable storage conditions. Do not allow skips that are deformed or otherwise unstable to remain in use or in stacks, as this increases instability and the risk of collapse.

Learn from previous enforcement and act quickly after notices. Where there has been prior enforcement related to stockpiling and collapse risk, treat improvement actions as urgent and ensure the required changes address the root causes, not just the immediate findings.

HSE Prosecution Link