Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Pedestrian Traffic Control

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas used by workers and visitors, and inadequate segregation between pedestrians and vehicles. The employer had previously faced enforcement action about skip stockpiling and collapse risks, highlighting repeated management failures to control serious hazards.

What Was The Incident?

HSE visited the site and observed tipper lorries and loading shovels moving freely around the yard. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the vehicle route used by lorries and other vehicles. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points to separate people from vehicles. Although the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed. The plan did not cover key pedestrian movements, including access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked. Some skips were deformed, making them more unstable, and the stack height reached three high in places. The increased height and instability raised the likelihood of collapse or items falling. The skips were also located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicle, placing people at risk of being struck or injured by falling or collapsing skips.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer was found to have failed to comply with duties under Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act by putting employees, agency workers and other persons at risk of death and serious personal injury. It pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Act. After improvement notices were served and a follow up visit confirmed ongoing issues, the company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs.

Key Points To Consider

Prevent pedestrian and vehicle conflict with real segregation. Ensure pedestrians have safe, designated routes and crossing points that are separate from vehicle movement, rather than using vehicle routes as the default walking path.

Keep traffic management plans visible and current. A traffic plan is only effective if it is visible to everyone on site and updated when the site layout or movement patterns change, including access to welfare facilities.

Control skip storage so collapse and falling risks are eliminated or reduced. Avoid unsafe stockpiling, including excessive stacking height and unstable conditions such as deformed skips, especially where people are nearby.

Do not locate stored plant and materials where people pass regularly. Keep heavy stored items, such as skips, out of areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or by vehicle to reduce the consequences if something falls or collapses.

Act decisively after enforcement and prior prohibitions. If regulators have already identified the same type of risk, treat it as a repeat failure, review controls urgently, and ensure improvements are embedded within the site’s day to day operations within the required timescales.

HSE Prosecution Link