Waste from building, renovating or demolishing a house may include:
- asbestos
- asphalt
- bricks
- concrete
- glass
- plasterboard
- rocks and waste soil
- timber
- vegetation.
If your house renovation generates construction and demolition waste, you need to know how to manage it.
When this type of waste is not managed in the right way, it can pose a risk to human health and the environment.
Home renovation waste and the law
It's your responsibility to make sure waste from your home renovation is lawfully managed. If you're using a contractor, you're responsible for how they manage waste from your site.
The general environmental duty applies to the management of construction and demolition waste. You must eliminate or reduce the risk of harm from waste so far as reasonably practicable.
Most construction and demolition waste is industrial waste. Duties apply to managing, transporting and depositing industrial waste. It must be taken to a place authorised to receive it, such as a licensed landfill. This includes waste going into a skip bin or removed by a waste removal contractor. To learn more, visit Understand your waste obligations and duties.
You may also need a permission to conduct some activities involving construction and demolition waste – for example, storing asbestos or transporting waste soil.
If waste from your home renovation contaminates land or groundwater, the duty to manage contaminated land and duty to notify us of contaminated land may apply to you.
It's illegal to dump, leave or bury any kind of waste at a location that's not authorised to accept it. This includes private property. You must dispose of waste at a place authorised to receive it.
Our role in home renovation waste
We regulate the transport, storage and disposal of industrial waste for all industries.
We provide industry guidance to help waste producers, transporters and receivers understand their duties and obligations. For guidance for the civil construction, building and demolition industry, visit Construction industry.
Impact of home renovation waste on your health
The impact of construction and demolition waste on your health depends on the type of waste.
For example, asbestos waste is dangerous to human health and must be managed in the right way. Timber products – for example, from house frames, floors, decking and fences – are often treated, chemically altered or coated with hazardous substances.
Manage home renovation waste
How you manage waste from your home renovation depends on the type of waste. For example, construction and demolition activities can generate:
- high levels of dust that need to be controlled
- pollutants that can wash off from building sites into stormwater drains
- unreasonable noise from power tools, heavy vehicles, generators and radios.
If you hire a skip bin or waste removal contractor, it's your responsibility to know the contractor is taking your waste to a place authorised to accept it. You can be fined for using a business that illegally dumps your waste.
If you take waste to a landfill or a transfer station, make sure it is authorised to take your type of waste. To find a landfill, contact your local council(opens in a new window).
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