Mistakes and Problems Related to Asbestos Disposal

2 May 2019
 Categories: , Blog


You may have heard that removing asbestos is risky work, especially to your health, and should be performed by a qualified person. This is because it is a process that should be carried out in a safe manner, from removal to disposal. When it comes to disposal, there are various rules and regulations that must be followed. Remember that asbestos has been removed from a building to prevent health problems. You do not want to cause health problems where you are taking it out, either in the course of the journey or at the disposal point. Note what should be done during disposal and where people go wrong.

Dumping

Some people may not be aware that dumping asbestos either in city fringes, bushland or industrial areas is illegal. Others, especially of commercial origin, will intentionally dump asbestos because of the costs involved in safely disposing large quantities or inconveniences better known to them. The solution to this should be hefty fines and jail time as reasoning falls to deaf ears.

Absence of A Local Landfill

Reducing the number of people handling the asbestos during transit is a good way of minimising risk. When there is no local landfill, it will mean that the asbestos has to be taken to a waste transfer station and then taken to a landfill. If the waste transfer station does not have trained staff, this can be a problem. The solution here is to train all staff at the waste transfer station while looking into opening local landfills.

Poor Packaging

Homeowners should not handle asbestos disposal. For those who insist they have to dispose of the asbestos, they should receive some training on how to handle it. Asbestos material should be safely packaged before disposal. Safe packaging does not only protect the removalist, but also the person transporting it and the people working at the landfill or waste transfer station.

Landfills No Longer Accepting Asbestos Waste

For safety reasons, there are now stricter operating requirements pertaining to such areas as gas management, compaction, fencing, liners, etc. Due to this, prices shoot way up, leading to the closure of the landfill. It is then replaced by a waste transfer station, which as indicated above has other problems. At times, when these prices increase, the landfill does not close but increases the amount of money they charge for disposal at the landfill. This results in illegal dumping of asbestos by commercial sources to avoid the high cost.

The solution to this is to subsidise prices for the materials and processes at the landfill level, which will improve the situation for others (both commercial and residential sources). 


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