Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Control

Brief Summary

HSE identified multiple workplace failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas accessed by workers and inadequate separation between vehicles and pedestrians. The employer was found to have put people at risk of death or serious injury and was fined after previously receiving enforcement action for similar hazards.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit on 11 August 2022, inspectors observed vehicles such as tipper lorries and loading shovels moving around the site and found that pedestrian access was blocked by a chained and padlocked entrance. Pedestrians were forced to use the same route as lorries and other vehicles, with no effective designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. A visual traffic plan existed but was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because the site layout had changed, including pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, with some deformed skips adding instability. In places the stacks were three high, increasing the risk of collapse or falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers on foot or in vehicles, creating a serious risk of skips falling onto people.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) and was fined £167,000 with ordered costs of £16,195. HSE also previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to skip stockpiling and collapse risks, and further improvement notices were issued after the 2022 visit requiring action within a set timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Segregate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Use designated pedestrian routes and safe crossing points so people are not required to share movement space with vehicles, particularly where larger vehicles and reversing are involved.

Keep traffic management plans current and visible. Ensure any traffic plan is visible to staff and visitors and reflects the current site layout and key pedestrian movements, updating it when site configurations change.

Control hazards from stored loads and stacking. Manage the stability of heavy items by preventing unsafe stacking and addressing deformation and instability, recognising that height and location can significantly increase collapse or falling risk.

Do not place unsafe storage where people regularly access. Avoid storing items in areas that workers use on foot or in vehicles unless you have effective controls to prevent people being struck if the load falls.

Act on prior enforcement and improvement notices. If enforcement action has previously been taken for similar risks, treat that as a clear warning to correct underlying duties and sustain improvements rather than relying on short term fixes.

HSE Prosecution Link