Waste Company Fined After Unsafe Skip Stacking and Poor Site Traffic Control

Brief Summary

HSE found a waste and recycling company had multiple health and safety failures at its site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas accessed by workers and pedestrians forced to use routes shared with vehicles. Although improvement actions were required after enforcement notices, the company was prosecuted and fined for placing workers and other people at risk.

What Was The Incident?

During an HSE visit, inspectors observed tipper lorries and loading shovels moving freely around the site. Pedestrian access was blocked by a chained and padlocked entrance, so pedestrians had to use the vehicle entrance route used by lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation using designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. The company had a visual traffic plan, but it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site arrangements had changed. It also did not cover key pedestrian movements, such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips stacked unsafely, with some deformed. In places they were stacked three high, increasing the likelihood of collapse or falling. The skips were placed in an area regularly accessed by workers, whether on foot or in vehicles.

What Was The Outcome?

The company pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs. HSE noted the company had previously received prohibition notices in 2019 relating to stockpiling and collapse risks, and improvement notices were served requiring corrective actions within a specified timescale.

Key Points To Consider

Design safe pedestrian and vehicle routes. Organise the site so pedestrians and vehicles can move safely, using designated pedestrian routes and crossing points rather than forcing people to share vehicle routes.

Keep traffic plans current and communicated. A traffic plan must be visible and understood by staff and visitors, and it must be updated when the site configuration changes so it still covers real pedestrian movements.

Prevent collapse risks from stored skips. Control stacking so skips cannot become unstable, including addressing deformation and limiting stack height and location to remove them from areas regularly accessed by workers.

Act on enforcement history, not just new notices. Where previous enforcement has already highlighted legal duties, treat it as a warning to improve systems, not as a one off response to future inspections.

Assess and manage the severity of potential outcomes. Given the size and weight of skips, employers should treat the worst credible outcome as serious and ensure site arrangements and precautions are sufficient to protect people nearby.

HSE Prosecution Link