Asbestos

What is asbestos, asbestos disposal and how to book an appointment can all be found on this page.

Identification

Asbestos is a natural material made up of tiny fibres. These fibres are usually safely fixed in another material like cement or insulation board, but can be released into the air by cutting, breaking, drilling or sanding. 

Please remember that any work on asbestos, dismantling and transporting may generate airborne asbestos fibres.

To minimise risk to your family’s health we strongly recommend that you contact a suitably qualified, licensed asbestos removal contractor for advice.

For advice relating to anything other than a garage roof and wall sheets, guttering or fall pipes you should contact a UKAS accredited asbestos laboratory for sampling and testing advice or contact a commercial operator. There will be a charge for these services.

Further advice can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive and in the links at the bottom of this page.

Acceptance

Doncaster and Barnsley Councils provides free disposal of cement bonded asbestos and other solid items which are known to contain asbestos, eg Marley floor tiles, old toilet cisterns.  We will only accept asbestos generated as a result of DIY work undertaken by you at your own home. Restrictions apply.

Asbestos is accepted at Armthorpe and Worsbrough Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) only by pre-booked appointments.

Both Armthorpe and Worsbrough HWRCs are for residents ONLY, not businesses, trade or commercial operators. Any asbestos produced from works carried out by a trades person will not be accepted. It is the legal responsibility of the trader to dispose of any waste they have generated as part of their activity.

To use this service, you must:

  • be a Doncaster or Barnsley resident
  • have dismantled and removed the item containing asbestos yourself from your own property.

Preparation

Breathing asbestos dust is dangerous. Any work on cement bonded asbestos may generate asbestos dust. To minimise risk to your family’s health we strongly recommend that you contact a suitably qualified and licensed asbestos removal contractor.

Should you wish to dismantle and dispose of asbestos yourself, we advise that the following precautions are taken to minimise the risk:

  • avoid creating dust from cement bonded asbestos. 
  • never sand down or wire-brush cement bonded asbestos. 
  • do not use power tools on cement bonded asbestos. 
  • avoid breaking cement bonded asbestos. 
  • when working with cement bonded asbestos it is advisable to wear disposable overalls,gloves and a face mask. Check that they are suitable for use with asbestos. You can get advice from safety equipment centres. After use, these should be disposed of as asbestos waste. 
  • when removing cement bonded asbestos thoroughly wet it first, particularly around any fixings
  • add detergent to the water as this will cause the asbestos to soak up the water more easily
  • use an ordinary hosepipe or watering can for this, not a high-powered water jet
  • if fixings are difficult to undo, try to cut them off rather than break the asbestos 

Only asbestos loads that are pre-booked will be accepted and must meet the criteria below:

  • a maximum of eight bags, packages or a combination of both to the total of eight, per property
  • whole sheets must be no bigger than 6ft x 4ft in order to fit into the container
  • whole asbestos items must be double wrapped in 1000 grade builders polythene, securely taped and sealed
  • broken or smaller asbestos items must be double wrapped or bagged in 1000 grade builders polythene, securely taped and sealed
  • incorrectly wrapped items will not be accepted

Booking an appointment

To book an appointment you will need to create an online account providing your full name, address and email address. You'll also need to create a password. Your account will be valid for up to three years.

When registered you'll be able to book an asbestos disposal visit.

CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT NOW

Disposing of asbestos

You will be responsible for removing the material from your vehicle and placing it in to the asbestos skip on site. Staff will not give any assistance with the disposal of asbestos.

Please note the opening to the asbestos skip is 142cm/56inches from the floor so please ensure that you can lift the bags/packages to this height safely:you may wish to bring someone with you to assist with the lifting. 

Material too big for the container or incorrectly wrapped cannot be accepted and advice will be given by site staff:

  • too big for the container - either use a correctly licensed private waste disposal company or take to a correctly licensed disposal facility
  • incorrectly wrapped - wrap correctly and book another appointment with the council

More information and useful links

Authorised businesses should be used to collect, recycle or dispose of hazardous waste (asbestos).  You should check the Environment Agency to check that waste carriers are registered and waste sites have environmental permits.

We are not responsible for the content of external sites

 

Privacy Notice

The council is committed to meeting its data protection obligations and handling your information securely. You should make sure you read and understand the Waste and Recycling - privacy notice which sets out what you need to know about how Doncaster Council will use your information in the course of our work as a Waste Collection Authority.

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Last updated: 27 March 2024 11:03:03

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