Waste Firm Fined After Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Separation

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive found multiple breaches at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked three high in areas workers regularly accessed and weak vehicle and pedestrian separation. The employer was fined and ordered to pay costs, following earlier enforcement history relating to stockpiling and collapse risk.

What Was The Incident?

HSE inspectors visited the site and saw vehicles including tipper lorries and loading shovels being driven around freely. Pedestrian access was obstructed by a chained and padlocked entrance, forcing pedestrians to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles. There were no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points, and the required segregation between vehicles and pedestrians was not in place. The employer also had a traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site layouts had changed, including access movements such as getting to toilets. In addition, skips were unsafely stacked, with some deformed. The stacks were three high in places and were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, increasing the risk of a collapse or a falling skip.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences of failing to fulfil legal duties that put people on site at risk of death or serious injury. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE reported that earlier prohibition notices had been served in 2019 about stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Ensure vehicles and pedestrians are effectively separated. Plan and implement clear pedestrian routes and crossing arrangements so people do not have to share the same circulation space as vehicles, especially where vehicle movements are frequent.

Keep traffic management information current and visible. A traffic plan is not enough if it is not accessible to staff and visitors and does not reflect the current site layout and the real pedestrian routes and movements.

Control skip storage to prevent instability and collapse. Stockpiling should be arranged so that heavy items are not stacked in a way that increases the likelihood of collapse, including taking account of any deformation and the height of stacks.

Do not locate hazardous stacking where people routinely pass. Keep skips and other stored materials out of areas regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles to reduce the consequences if items fall.

Use prior enforcement as a trigger for real change. Where enforcement action has previously been taken, treat it as evidence that existing arrangements are not adequate and ensure corrective actions are implemented and verified within the required timescales.

HSE Prosecution Link