Waste Company Fined for Unsafe Skip Stockpiling and Poor Vehicle Pedestrian Segregation

Brief Summary

HSE found multiple health and safety failures at a waste and recycling site, including skips stacked up to three high in areas accessed by workers and a traffic system that forced pedestrians to use vehicle routes. The company had also been previously subject to enforcement for similar issues involving stockpiling and collapse risks.

What Was The Incident?

HSE inspected the site and observed vehicles including tipper lorries and loading shovels moving freely around the yard. Pedestrian access was obstructed, with the pedestrian entrance chained and padlocked, forcing pedestrians to use the vehicle entrance route used by lorries and other vehicles. There was no effective segregation using designated pedestrian routes or crossing points. Although the employer had a visual traffic plan, it was not visible to staff or visitors and was out of date because site layout had changed, meaning it did not address key pedestrian movements such as access across the yard to toilets. Inspectors also found skips unsafely stacked, with some deformed, and stacked three high in places. The increased height and instability created a risk of collapse or falling. The skips were located in an area regularly accessed by workers, on foot or in vehicles, increasing the risk to those nearby.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to two offences under section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to meet duties under section 2 and section 3 by exposing people on site, including employees and agency workers, to risk of death and serious personal injury. The company was fined 167,000 and ordered to pay 16,195 in costs. This followed earlier enforcement action, including prohibition notices in 2019 related to stockpiling and risks of collapse.

Key Points To Consider

Separate pedestrians and vehicles effectively. Do not rely on barriers and assumptions when people are being pushed into shared routes; ensure designated pedestrian routes and crossing arrangements are used in practice across the whole site.

Keep traffic arrangements current and communicated. A traffic plan must be visible, usable and up to date when the site layout changes, including how people move to key facilities such as toilets.

Control the risks from stockpiled heavy items. Treat stockpiling as a collapse risk, especially where items are heavy and can deform, and prevent dangerous stacking heights in areas that people regularly access.

Act on enforcement history and known legal duties. If previous prohibition notices have already highlighted similar hazards, take prompt corrective action and verify that changes are sustained rather than repeating the same failures.

Consider additional measures where large vehicles reverse or manoeuvre. When large vehicles and movements create higher consequence risks, assess the need for extra precautions to protect people working or moving nearby and implement them where needed.

HSE Prosecution Link