Asbestos safety
Asbestos handling and removal
Every home built or renovated before the mid 1980’s is likely to contain asbestos. If left undisturbed, asbestos generally does not pose a health risk.
However, when disturbed during renovations and home maintenance, asbestos fibres can be released into the air and when inhaled, can cause life-threatening diseases including lung cancer, pleural disease, asbestosis and mesothelioma, an incurable, terminal cancer.
Please refer below to the following links for general information on the safe handling and removal of asbestos.
Asbestos awareness
If you suspect you have asbestos in your home:
DON'T cut it, drill it, drop it, sand it, saw it, scrape it, scrub it, dismantle it, tip it, water blast it, or demolish it.
And whatever you do... DON'T DUMP IT!
If you're thinking about renovating, you must be aware of asbestos. It's important for homeowners and renovators to be aware of how to safely manage asbestos in and around the home.
If you're not sure if it's Asbestos, always assume it is!
Asbestos awareness website
Factsheet - Where asbestos might be found within the home(PDF, 602KB)
Asbestos disposal
Griffith City Council are accepting asbestos at Tharbogang Waste Management Centre.
Asbestos Disposal Days are Monday & Wednesday only between 9am and 12pm
Customers must book on (02) 6963 6491 and provide the following information:
- Approximate size of load
- Type of asbestos Friable (ie. insulation, asbestos fibre) or Non Friable (ie. roof or fence corrugated sheeting, eave or fibro wall sheeting)
- Contact name and phone number
- Vehicle and trailer registration will be delivering the load to Tharbogang Waste Management Centre main gate for assessment and acceptance
Load requirements
- Loads must be double wrapped in “black builders” type plastic, sealed with “silver duct tape” and loaded onto a pallet
- Wrapping and taping must be robust enough to allow Council staff to handle the asbestos pallet without the contents breaking through
- Council staff will unload the pallet that contains the asbestos on top of it - for their own safety, the general public are to remain in their vehicle during this time
- Each loaded pallet must not exceed a height of 1 meter and a weight of 100kg
- Contractors with large amounts of asbestos must prearrange the disposal by contacting (02) 6963 6491
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
- If a load is delivered to Tharbogang Waste Management Centre and is not declared as asbestos by the customer, the load will not be accepted until it is wrapped correctly as described above
- If asbestos is dumped at the Tharbogang internal active tipping site and the offending customer is identified, a fine will be imposed. The load charge will then be recalculated, and the offending customer will be asked to remove the asbestos and wrap it correctly as described above. If the offending customer refuses to remove the asbestos, then a professional asbestos removalist contractor will be engaged and their fee will be passed onto the offending customer.
The safety of the public and Council staff is of primary importance and adherence to the above procedures and processes will assist this.
EPA Hazardous Waste Tracking Procedure
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has developed a new system for tracking movements of hazardous and high-risk wastes moving into, within and out of NSW which commenced on 28 February 2024.
Learn more about the new requirements here(PDF, 154KB)