A scrap metal recycling company has been fined after two members of the public were injured when a large stockpile of metal collapsed at its site in Scunthorpe.
PPS Metal Recycling Ltd was fined £40,000 after failing to protect members of the public from risks associated with moving machinery and unstable stockpiles.
Father and son injured
On 6 February 2025, a father and son were unloading scrap metal while a 360 degree excavator fitted with a grab attachment was operating nearby.
As the excavator removed material from a large stockpile, part of the pile collapsed and heavy pieces of scrap fell onto the pair.
Both were taken to hospital following the incident, with one sustaining a broken leg.
HSE identifies safety failures
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the excavator had been operating close to members of the public for approximately 20 minutes before the incident.
HSE found that PPS Metal Recycling had failed to implement suitable controls to prevent members of the public being exposed to risks from moving machinery and unstable stockpiles.
The incident followed an earlier near miss on 27 January 2025, when the rotating cab of the same excavator struck the side of a vehicle belonging to a member of the public who was unloading scrap.
Nobody was injured during the earlier incident, but HSE identified the same underlying safety failures.
Traffic management measures introduced
HSE guidance states that pedestrians and vehicles should be segregated so far as is reasonably practicable. Waste and recycling sites should also have suitable traffic management arrangements to protect workers and members of the public.
Following the February incident, HSE served a Prohibition Notice preventing the excavator from operating close to pedestrians.
The company subsequently created a separate public unloading area, installed signage, introduced supervised unloading and developed a traffic management plan incorporating barriered walkways.
Company fined £40,000
At Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on 1 September, PPS Metal Recycling Ltd was sentenced after previously pleading guilty on 30 July to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £6,181 in costs.
HSE Inspector Joe Fitzgerald, said: “These two members of the public were fortunate not to have been even more seriously injured or killed.
“This incident was entirely avoidable. Members of the public should not have been exposed to the risks created by heavy machinery and unstable stockpiles.
“Employers must ensure effective arrangements are in place to segregate pedestrians from workplace transport and mobile plant. Had suitable controls been implemented, this incident and the earlier near miss would not have occurred.”
