Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Management

Brief Summary

The regulator found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in places, with poor pedestrian and vehicle segregation. Enforcement action followed, and the employer was fined following guilty pleas.

What Was The Incident?

When the regulator visited in August 2022, vehicles were driven around the site without effective separation from pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, forcing people to use the vehicle route used by lorries and other vehicles. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed. Key pedestrian movements, such as access across the yard to toilets, were not addressed. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, including some deformed skips, with stacks 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, increasing the risk to people if skips fell.

What Was The Outcome?

Following the initial findings, improvement notices were served requiring action within set timescales. A subsequent investigation found the employer had previously been subject to enforcement action, with prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse. The employer pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £167,000 with ordered costs of £16,195.

Key Points To Consider

Provide effective pedestrian and vehicle segregation. Ensure pedestrians and vehicles circulate safely, with designated routes and crossing arrangements that are actually used in practice rather than relying on ad hoc movement around vehicle areas.

Keep traffic plans current and visible. A traffic plan must be available to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout or working patterns change, so it covers the real pedestrian movements around the yard.

Control vehicle and reversing risks with additional precautions. Where large vehicles operate and reversing is involved, assess the risk to people nearby and implement additional precautions to prevent interaction between people and vehicles.

Prevent dangerous stockpiling and assess stability of stored items. Stacking arrangements must account for the size and weight of skips and the stability of the stack, particularly where skips are deformed or otherwise compromised.

Act quickly on enforcement and learn from prior notices. If improvement notices or previous prohibition action has already highlighted the same type of risk, treat it as a clear warning that controls are not working and ensure corrective actions remove the hazards, not just paper over them.

HSE Prosecution Link