Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Weak Site Vehicle Control

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety management failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas used by workers and poor segregation of pedestrians from vehicles. The employer was previously subject to enforcement action for similar risks. The company pleaded guilty to offences and was fined, with costs ordered.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit, inspectors observed vehicles and loading equipment moving freely around the site, while pedestrians were not provided with safe, designated routes. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so pedestrians were forced to use the same access route as lorries and other vehicles. The site relied on a traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after the site layout changed, including failure to address how people moved across the yard to toilets. HSE also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed and stacked three high in places. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a risk of instability, collapse, or falling debris.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences and was fined £167,000, plus ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously issued prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were served after a later visit requiring action within a set timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Do not rely on people sharing vehicle access routes; provide designated pedestrian routes and crossing points so pedestrians can move safely even when large vehicles are on site.

Keep traffic management plans current and visible. A visual traffic plan must be communicated clearly to staff and visitors and updated when site layouts or work patterns change, including day to day pedestrian movements to welfare facilities.

Control skip storage to prevent collapse and falling. Treat skip stockpiling as a high risk activity due to size and weight, ensuring stacking is stable, skips are not deformed where this reduces integrity, and storage locations do not expose people to falling risk.

Address vehicle movements and reversing risks with extra precautions. Where vehicles must reverse or where heavy plant and loading equipment operate close to people, implement additional site measures beyond basic arrangements to protect those working nearby.

Learn quickly from previous enforcement. If the regulator has previously acted on similar failures, use that information to review and improve controls, as repeated issues can lead to strong enforcement action and significant penalties.

HSE Prosecution Link