Shropshire recycling firm’s HGV fleet halved after 'serious failings' uncovered

A Wem-based recycling operator has had its HGV fleet authorisation cut by 50 per cent after a traffic commissioner found “serious failings” in driver management, tachograph compliance and operational oversight.

Deputy Traffic Commissioner Dr Paul Stookes curtailed the operator’s licence held by Kingpin Recycling Ltd from 12 vehicles to six indefinitely following a public inquiry held on June 24.

A report stated that the Wem-based company, which specialises in the reuse and recycling of used tyres, came to the attention of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) following a roadside encounter in July 2025.

A subsequent investigation identified 28 occasions where vehicles were driven without a driver card inserted, covering a total of 3,323 kilometres and involving multiple drivers.

Investigators also found failures to produce complete tachograph and driver card records.

According to the commissioner’s written decision, interviews with drivers revealed varying levels of understanding of drivers’ hours requirements, while some admitted that driver cards had been removed to avoid recording excessive duty time.

Investigators concluded there had been a serious breakdown in record-keeping, driver management and operational control.

The public inquiry heard that the non-compliance occurred between May and August 2025, during a period when drivers were “largely unregulated and unmanaged” by the operator. The report stated Kingpin Recycling accepted that “the failings were serious and warranted regulatory action”.

The company told the inquiry that the period coincided with internal management difficulties, although responsibility for the failings was disputed between the business and its former managing director. The operator nevertheless accepted collective responsibility for compliance under the licence.

The commissioner noted that, once the scale of the issues became apparent, the company took substantial steps to improve compliance.

These included appointing new operational management staff, restructuring work allocation, increasing driver training, investing in technology to improve oversight and arranging operator licensing training for directors. A dedicated transport manager was also due to be appointed.

In his decision, Dr Stookes concluded that the company had breached its operator licence undertakings relating to drivers’ hours and tachograph compliance and that there had been a material change in circumstances following the DVSA intervention.

However, having weighed the serious non-compliance against the improvements made by the operator, the commissioner decided that revocation would be disproportionate.

Referring to whether the operator could be trusted to comply in future, he concluded that this was more likely than not.

The licence was therefore curtailed indefinitely from 12 vehicles to six, a measure intended to “allow the operator to focus on achieving and maintaining compliance with a more manageable fleet size”.

As part of the regulatory outcome, Kingpin Recycling must commission an independent audit of its transport compliance systems and continue to engage specialist transport consultants until at least June 2027.