Summary
Recycled Material Supplies Limited, a waste and recycling firm based in South East London, has been fined £167,000 and ordered to pay £16,195 in costs following a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. During site visits in August 2022, inspectors found that skips were being stacked three-high in an unstable and deformed state, posing a “catastrophic” risk of collapse. Furthermore, the site lacked adequate segregation between pedestrians and heavy machinery; a padlocked pedestrian gate forced workers to use the same entrance as tipper lorries and loading shovels. The company’s traffic plan was found to be out of date and invisible to staff.
Analysis
The severity of the fine underscores the HSE’s stance on repeat offenders and systemic negligence. Recycled Material Supplies Limited had previously received prohibition notices in 2019 for similar stockpiling risks, yet failed to implement lasting changes. The analysis of the site reveals a fundamental breakdown in safety culture:
Failure to Segregate: By forcing pedestrians into vehicle traffic routes, the company ignored basic workplace transport safety guidance, significantly increasing the risk of fatal collisions.
Structural Instability: Stacking heavy, deformed skips three-high in areas accessed by workers created a high-probability, high-impact risk of crushing injuries.
Management Failure: An outdated and inaccessible traffic plan indicates that safety measures were treated as a bureaucratic exercise rather than a functional operational priority.
This prosecution serves as a warning to the waste and recycling sector—an industry noted by the HSE for its poor safety record—that failure to address known risks after prior enforcement will result in significant financial and legal consequences.
Article Link: Fine for waste company that stockpiled skips and put workers at risk