0 Read first
- The national asbestos agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, though in Victoria the Better Health Channel says householders may legally remove it from their own property, and recommends that only a licensed professional removes loosely bound material. The national agency adds that a licensed asbestos removalist is the safer choice.
- WorkSafe Victoria says exposure to every type of airborne asbestos fibre is hazardous to human health.
- Asbestos fibres are most likely to be released when asbestos material is disturbed, for example by drilling, cutting, sawing or breaking it. Victorian guidance warns against power tools, abrasive cutting or sanding discs, compressed air, high-pressure water jets, and dry-sanding, wire-brushing or scraping a surface before painting it. WorkSafe Victoria’s flood-recovery advice adds that when you clean asbestos material that is still in place and not damaged, you should avoid high-pressure washers or water blasters, which can damage it and spread asbestos debris and fibres, and power tools or abrasive materials such as sanders. Better Health says never to saw, grind, drill or break asbestos with power tools, and to use hand tools if you must. The national agency adds that you should never clean asbestos with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding, because it can spread contamination widely.
- In Victoria, asbestos waste may go only to a site EPA Victoria has authorised to accept it, and EPA keeps the list of landfills licensed for asbestos waste. It must never go in a general, recycling or green waste bin.
2.1 Two kinds of trip
EPA Victoria treats asbestos from your own household, carried in your own vehicle, differently from asbestos that comes out of commercial, industrial or trade work.
| Question | Your household asbestos, your own vehicle | Asbestos from a removalist or other business |
|---|---|---|
| Where it may go | A landfill authorised to receive domestic asbestos. | A landfill authorised to receive industrial asbestos waste, confirmed before the waste is moved. |
| Transport permission | Not needed. | EPA advises choosing a licensed removalist that holds a permission to transport reportable priority waste. |
| Waste Tracker | Not needed. | EPA advises a removalist that uses Waste Tracker and will give you the record of the waste reaching a lawful place. Missing or incomplete records can lead to notices, fines or charges. |
| Packaging and disposal | Packaged the right way, or landfills will refuse it. | Under regulations 260 and 280, whoever does the removal, a licence holder or an employer doing limited work, must dispose of the waste as soon as reasonably possible, in a way that eliminates the release of fibres, at a place authorised under the Environment Protection Act 2017. |
The general environmental duty applies to all activities involving asbestos waste, whoever is doing them.
2.2 Before you drive: ring the landfill
Not every landfill takes asbestos, and EPA Victoria asks you to contact the landfill before you carry household asbestos there. Its reasons, in its own words: “landfills authorised to receive asbestos can still choose not to accept it”, and “you may have to book a time ahead so that staff are ready to store your asbestos waste safely.”
EPA’s list of landfills licensed for asbestos waste sits on its page about disposing of asbestos waste. Some entries are marked domestic only and others commercial only, and EPA warns that the sites may not take asbestos at all times.
Two more limits are worth knowing before you load anything. EPA says domestic asbestos landfills accept only a small amount of household asbestos. Asbestos in Victoria adds that you should check the disposal site is authorised by EPA and what it requires, so that the waste will be accepted.
2.3 On the road and at the gate
Asbestos in Victoria says disposal has to stop airborne fibres escaping, which means three things: the waste is packaged securely, it stays secure while it travels, and it is unloaded in a safe way. How to package each kind of material is set out step by step in the field on doing it yourself.
Its packaging page also carries a dangerous goods label table, with a proper shipping name, UN number, packing group, Hazchem code and class for each type of asbestos. Read the table on Asbestos in Victoria’s packaging page. The page notes that packaged dangerous goods need only the UN number, the proper shipping name and the Dangerous Goods Class label.
At the landfill, permission conditions require asbestos waste to be handled and covered so that no dust is raised.
2.4 Where it must never go
EPA Victoria is plain about it: “Asbestos waste must not be disposed of in general, recyclables, or green waste bins.” Asbestos in Victoria’s list of don’ts goes further. It rules out a household rubbish bin or an ordinary rubbish skip, reusing or recycling the waste, dumping it, and putting it out for a council hard rubbish collection.
There is one kind of skip that is allowed. Asbestos in Victoria says a mini skip may be hired from a waste removal company that EPA has authorised to carry asbestos: you fill it with your bagged asbestos waste, and the company collects it.
2.5 Holding on to it
EPA says strict rules apply to storing asbestos waste , and the permissions it describes for storage are written for businesses receiving waste from other sites. For a household, Asbestos in Victoria’s advice is to transport and dispose of the packages securely, as soon as possible, at a site authorised by EPA to accept asbestos.
+ The other fields
Back to the blank form, or open another field.
EPA Victoria’s advice is to choose a licensed removalist who will supply a Waste Tracker record, so it is a fair question to ask a removalist before the work begins.