Waste Company Fined After Dangerous Skip Stockpiling and Poor Traffic Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple site safety failures at a waste and recycling operation, including dangerous skip stockpiling and a lack of effective separation between pedestrians and vehicles, with enforcement history making the breaches more serious. The employer was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 costs.

What Was The Incident?

When HSE inspectors visited in August 2022, they observed vehicles and loading shovels being driven around the site with no effective pedestrian routes or crossing points. The pedestrian entrance was chained and padlocked, so pedestrians had to use the vehicle entrance route used by lorries and other vehicles. Although a visual traffic plan existed, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date after the site layout changed, including not addressing pedestrian movement to toilets. HSE also found skips dangerously stacked, with some deformed. In places the stack was 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, meaning they could be put at risk if a skip fell.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33(1)(a). A fine of £167,000 was imposed and the company was ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE had previously served prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and the risk of collapse, and improvement actions were issued after a later follow up visit in 2022.

Key Points To Consider

Provide effective segregation between people and vehicles. Ensure pedestrians have designated safe routes and crossing points rather than being forced to use vehicle entry routes, and organise site circulation so that pedestrians and vehicles can move safely.

Keep traffic management plans current and accessible. A traffic plan needs to be visible to staff and visitors and updated when the site layout changes so it covers key pedestrian movements and the actual ways people access facilities.

Control risks from stockpiled heavy items. Where skips are large and heavy, stacking arrangements must prevent instability and reduce the chance of collapse, including taking account of deformation and increased stack height.

Avoid placing stored materials in frequently accessed areas. Do not locate stockpiles where workers regularly pass on foot or in vehicles, since a fall could expose people to serious harm.

Respond quickly and thoroughly to prior enforcement and notices. If prohibition notices and improvement actions have already been served, treat legal duties as already known and close the gaps identified, rather than relying on plans that are outdated or not effectively implemented.

HSE Prosecution Link