Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stockpiling And Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Separation

Brief Summary

HSE enforcement action followed site observations showing pedestrians were routed through vehicle areas without effective segregation, a traffic management plan that was not visible and was out of date, and skips stacked in unsafe conditions. The employer had also previously faced enforcement for similar risks, making the failures more serious.

What Was The Incident?

On visiting a waste and recycling site, HSE inspectors saw tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around the yard, while pedestrian access was chained and padlocked. People were forced to use a route used by lorries and other vehicles, with no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. HSE also found that skips were dangerously stockpiled in places up to three high, with some deformed and stacked in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles. This created a risk of skips collapsing or falling. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and did not reflect changes to the site layout, including key pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Prohibition notices had previously been served in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. Further action had been driven by improvement notices requiring remedies within specified timescales following earlier HSE findings.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians from vehicles effectively. Do not rely on informal movement patterns; provide designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so people are not pushed into vehicle areas, especially where large vehicles circulate.

Keep traffic management plans current and visible. A traffic plan must be accessible to staff and visitors and updated when site layouts change, including routes for everyday tasks such as toilet access across the yard.

Control the risk from skip storage and stacking. Stockpiling skips three high in places and stacking deformed skips increases instability and the chance of collapse or falling, particularly where skips are in areas workers access.

Treat collapse hazards as potentially catastrophic. Because skips are large and heavy, the consequences of any failure can be severe, so storage arrangements should be assessed for stability and kept away from regular pedestrian and vehicle movement areas.

Use enforcement history to improve compliance. Where prior enforcement has already highlighted legal duties around stockpiling and collapse risks, you must ensure robust corrective action is implemented and sustained rather than repeating known failures.

HSE Prosecution Link