Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE identified several breaches at a waste and recycling site including skips stacked three high, unsafe instability risks, and poor vehicle pedestrian segregation that forced pedestrians to use the vehicle route. The employer had previously received enforcement action about similar collapse risks and was fined following guilty pleas.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit, inspectors saw vehicles and plant being driven around the site without effective separation from pedestrians. The pedestrian entrance was secured and pedestrians were directed to use the same route as vehicles. The employer had a visual traffic plan, but it was not available to staff and visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including failing to reflect key pedestrian movements such as access to toilets. Inspectors also found skips dangerously stacked in areas accessed by workers, with some skips deformed and stacked three high in places, increasing the likelihood of collapse or falling and exposing workers to serious harm.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33 1 a. It was fined 167,000 and ordered to pay 16,195 towards costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 related to skip stockpiling and risks of collapse, and improvement notices were issued after the 2022 findings requiring action within a set timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Separate people and vehicles effectively across the site. Pedestrian access must have clear designated routes and crossing arrangements rather than directing people to share vehicle paths, especially where vehicles and plant operate freely.

Make sure traffic plans are current and actually used. A traffic plan that is not visible to staff and visitors and does not reflect the current yard layout, including key pedestrian routes, will not provide effective control.

Control the stability of skip storage. Skips must not be stacked in a way that creates an instability risk, including taking account of size and weight and avoiding stacking conditions that increase the chance of collapse or falling, particularly in areas workers regularly access.

Treat prior enforcement as a clear warning to improve. Where previous prohibition notices have already highlighted legal duties and risks of collapse, systems and arrangements must be reviewed and strengthened so the same failures do not repeat.

Act promptly after enforcement notices to close the hazards. Improvement notices with required action timescales should drive rapid remedial work, including fixing both traffic management and hazardous storage practices to reduce the risk of death or serious injury.

HSE Prosecution Link