Waste and recycling company fined after worker injured

£270,000 fine after employee suffered fractured shoulder, torn ligaments, and broken finger

NORTH-East waste and recycling company Stonegrave Aggregates Ltd have been fined £270,000 after an employee was injured while cleaning a waste picking line on 24 March 2023. The worker became trapped in a section of machinery when the line was accidentally switched on.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to ensure an isolation procedure was correctly implemented while employees were cleaning machinery at its site at Aycliffe Quarry, Co. Durham.

The incident occurred when a senior supervisor restarted the machinery after mistaking the worker in question for a colleague in similar clothing nearby. The employee suffered a fractured shoulder, torn ligaments, and a broken finger.

According to the HSE, this was not the first serious incident at the site. In December 2015, one worker was killed and another suffered life-changing injuries on a separate waste sorting line due to similar failures to follow proper isolation and lock-off procedures.

HSE guidance highlights the importance of following safe isolation and lock-off procedures before any maintenance or cleaning work is carried out. Employers must ensure all machinery is properly isolated from power sources, and that systems are regularly monitored and reviewed to prevent inadvertent start-up.

At Teesside Crown Court, Stonegrave Aggregates Ltd, part of the Ashcourt Group, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £270,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £15,637.

Following the hearing, HSE inspector Darian Dundas said: ‘Effective monitoring, auditing, and review of isolation systems is essential to demonstrate that they are working and controlling risk. Incidents like this can and should be prevented by following robust lock-off procedures.’