Waste Company Fined for Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Control

Brief Summary

A waste and recycling company was prosecuted following HSE findings at a site where vehicles and pedestrians shared unsafe routes, and where skips were stockpiled at height in areas regularly used by workers. The case highlights how poor site layout, outdated or unusable traffic arrangements, and unstable loading practices can create serious collapse and fatality risk.

What Was The Incident?

On 11 August 2022, HSE inspectors visited a waste and recycling site and found multiple safety failures. Vehicles and loading equipment were driven freely around the site, and pedestrians had to use the vehicle entrance route because the pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked. There was no effective segregation using designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. While the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site configuration had changed. Inspectors identified that pedestrian movements, including access across the yard to toilets, were not addressed by the plan. The inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed, and stacked three high in places. The stack height increased the likelihood of collapse or falling, and the skips were located in areas 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. The company was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE reported that improvement notices had been served after the initial visit, requiring action within specified timescales, and that there had previously been enforcement action, including prohibition notices served in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles using workable site routes. Do not rely on informal movement around the yard; ensure designated pedestrian routes and crossing points are in place and effectively prevent people being directed into vehicle circulation areas.

Keep traffic management arrangements visible and current. A traffic plan that staff and visitors cannot see and that does not reflect the current site layout will not protect people, especially where routes change or pedestrians need safe access to welfare facilities.

Treat skip stockpiling as a collapse risk, not storage. Where skips are heavy and can become unstable, stack height, deformation and the likelihood of falling must be controlled to prevent collapse and serious harm.

Identify and manage high risk locations that workers access regularly. Do not place stored or stacked items in areas regularly used by workers on foot or in vehicles, because any fall or collapse would expose people in the normal course of work.

Act quickly and thoroughly after enforcement, especially if there is a history. If the business has previously received enforcement action for similar issues, improvements must address root causes, not just comply with notices, to ensure risks are eliminated rather than repeated.

HSE Prosecution Link