Asbestos waste can be dangerous. You must manage asbestos waste the right way.
The general environmental duty applies to all activities involving asbestos waste.
We regulate the management of asbestos waste from business and industry. This includes:
- transporting asbestos waste
- storing asbestos waste
- disposal of waste
- treating soil containing asbestos waste
- management of contaminated land
Removing asbestos
If you’re removing asbestos, visit Asbestos in Victoria. This has information for:
- domestic residences and commercial workplaces
- builders, tradespeople or sole traders.
The safest way to remove asbestos is to use a licensed asbestos removalist. WorkSafe Victoria lists licensed asbestos removalists in a service providers directory.
You must make sure that asbestos waste is taken to a landfill authorised to receive it. To meet your obligations, always choose a licensed asbestos removalist that:
- has a permission to transport reportable priority waste
- uses Waste Tracker
- will supply you with a Waste Tracker waste record. This logs the movement of asbestos waste to a place authorised to receive it (lawful place).
Missing or incomplete Waste Tracker records can result in notices, fines or charges.
Visit Dispose of asbestos waste for more information on lawful disposal locations.
Homeowner transport of asbestos waste
Asbestos removal work is best performed by licensed asbestos removalists. They are appropriately trained to perform the removal work safely.To know when you can and cannot remove asbestos yourself, visit Asbestos in Victoria.
If you are transporting asbestos for disposal, plan ahead. It will need to be securely packaged. Visit Asbestos in Victoria for more information on how to do this safely.
Transport of industrial asbestos waste
These duties apply to the transport of asbestos waste from business and industry:
- duty of persons involved in transporting industrial waste
- duties of persons receiving industrial waste
- duty to notify us of transaction in reportable priority waste
- duty of persons transporting reportable priority waste.
Understand your legal duties when transporting or allowing the transport of asbestos waste. Learn more from our guidance Asbestos transport and disposal.
Store asbestos waste
Strict rules apply to storing asbestos waste.
You will need this to temporarily store less than 10 m3 of double-wrapped, non-friable asbestos received from another site. Only those that meet specific requirements are eligible for this registration.
You can also store asbestos waste if you have an A01 - Reportable priority waste management licence.
Receive and treat soil containing asbestos for fill material
A01 – Reportable priority waste management development licence and operating licence.
You must have this to receive and treat soil containing asbestos for offsite use as fill material.
At a minimum, your application for the licence must include:
- a risk assessment
- what mitigation and monitoring measures you will use
- acceptance criteria to eliminate the possibility of friable asbestos being present in the soil. This includes analytical testing, site history investigations and quarantine process
- how you will manage batches to reduce cross-contamination of friable asbestos
- the batch treatment process you will use and its effectiveness in removing asbestos
- the recall procedure in case an accidentally contaminated batch is dispatched
- the soil testing regime you will use.
The soil testing regime needs to meet both the:
- Fill material determination(opens in a new window)
- National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure (ASC NEPM) requirements.
These are:
- less than 0.01% weight-by-weight concentration of bonded asbestos
- less than 0.001% weight-by-weight concentration of friable asbestos
- no other contaminants present in the soil.
If treated waste soil does not meet the requirements, it must be disposed of at a landfill authorised to receive it.
Disposing of asbestos waste
Asbestos waste must not be disposed of in general, recyclables, or green waste bins.
You must take asbestos waste to a landfill authorised to receive it.
We have a register of landfills in Victoria that can legally accept asbestos. Contact the landfill before you transport and deliver your household asbestos. This is because:
- landfills authorised to receive asbestos can still choose not to accept it
- you may have to book a time ahead so that staff are ready to store your asbestos waste safely.
Visit Dispose of asbestos waste for more information.
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