Company fined £650k for failing to protect workers

HSE said there were no barriers to protect workers from reversing lorry

A metal recycling firm has been fined more than £650,000 for failing to implement effective control measures to protect workers.

It follows a routine inspection by the Health and Safety Executive of ASM Metal Recycling at its premises on Griffin Lane in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

HSE inspector Emma Page observed workers sorting waste were not sufficiently protected by barriers from reversing lorries on a visit in August 2023.

The company, which operates four other sites, including in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act at a hearing at Oxford Magistrates Court on 22 October.

ASM metal recycling site in Aylesbury was inspected by HSE

During her visit, Ms Page took videos of a red skip lorry reversing past three pedestrian workers in yellow high-visibility sleeveless jackets who were sorting waste in the yard.

At one point, two of the workers had their backs towards the still reversing HGV.

The HSE said this "reveals there are no measures, such as barriers, to prevent the reversing vehicle coming into contact with and causing injury, or worse, to the workers".

A further investigation revealed that ASM Metal Recycling Ltd had previously identified the risks of pedestrian-vehicle collisions, but had failed to implement effective control measures to prevent this.

HSE had previously served enforcement notices on ASM Metal Recycling Ltd in 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018.  

It also wrote Notification of Contravention letters to the company in 2021 and 2023.

ASM Metal Recycling Ltd of 55 Station Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, was fined £657,885 and ordered to pay £5,885 costs at Oxford Magistrates Court.

After the hearing, Ms Page said: “The scrap and metal recycling industry has consistently had a poor fatal incident rate for many years.

“The most serious risk associated with manually sorting waste is a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian. On average, there are around five fatalities each year in the waste industry, with nearly half of these relating to being struck by a moving vehicle".