Waste Management Company Fined After Un-Guarded Conveyor Injury

Brief Summary

A waste management company was prosecuted after an 18 year old employee sustained serious injuries while loading a bin conveyor. The investigation found there was no suitable and sufficient risk assessment and that suitable guarding was not provided, leading to a significant fine and a guilty plea for breaching health and safety law.

What Was The Incident?

On 21 November 2024 at a site in Oldham, an 18 year old employee was working for a waste management company when his foot slipped into an unguarded conveyor channel used for loading bins. The employee suffered several serious fractures to his right leg.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £300,150, ordered to pay £3931.85 in costs, and a victim surcharge of £2000 was applied. The case was dealt with at Warrington Magistrates Court on 16 June 2026.

Key Points To Consider

Carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. An absence of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment left the company unable to identify the controls needed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery during normal work.

Provide suitable guarding on conveyors. The incident was linked to unguarded conveyor channels, showing that guarding needs to be effective where a person could enter a danger zone.

Prevent access to dangerous parts during routine tasks. Where people must carry out routine access, employers should use effective measures to stop the movement of dangerous parts before anyone enters the danger zone, not rely on chance.

Use appropriate control measures for situations requiring access. If fixed guarding alone is not enough because access is needed, other controls may be required such as interlocked guards or pressure mats to reduce the risk when access occurs.

Be prepared for enforcement where standards fall short. The HSE emphasised that enforcement action can follow serious workplace failings, particularly where risk assessment and machine safety controls are not properly applied.

HSE Prosecution Link