Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

An HSE inspection found multiple workplace safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including unsafe skip stacking and ineffective vehicle and pedestrian arrangements. The employer was prosecuted after improvement notices followed earlier enforcement action, and was fined for exposing people on site to a risk of death or serious injury.

What Was The Incident?

On the day of the HSE visit, inspectors observed vehicles including tipper lorries and loading shovels moving freely around the site. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as vehicles. There was no effective segregation through designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and had become out of date because the site layout had changed, so it did not cover key pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and stacked three high in places. The height and deformation increased instability and the likelihood of collapse or falling. Skips were stacked in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a significant risk to people if skips fell.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. The prosecution followed improvement notices requiring specific actions within a set timescale, and HSE found the employer had previously been subject to prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and collapse risk.

Key Points To Consider

Provide effective pedestrian and vehicle separation. Ensure pedestrians can move around the site using designated routes and crossings, and avoid forcing them onto vehicle routes, especially where vehicles move frequently.

Keep site traffic arrangements current and communicated. A traffic plan is not enough if it is not visible or has not been updated to match site changes, including routes to facilities such as toilets.

Control reversing and vehicle movement risks. Where large vehicles must reverse or operate near people, assess the risk and put additional protective measures in place to prevent unsafe interactions.

Stop unsafe stockpiling and stacking practices. Stacking needs to account for size, weight, deformation and stability, so that collapse or falling skips are prevented and not placed in areas regularly accessed by workers.

Act on enforcement history to drive improvement. If previous enforcement action has highlighted legal duties, treat it as a clear warning to review controls, including traffic management and storage arrangements, before people are put at risk.

HSE Prosecution Link