Asbestos Waste: Specialist Collection Only

Buildings constructed or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. Common examples include cement roof sheets, garage roofs, gutters and downpipes, textured ceiling coatings, floor tiles, pipe lagging, insulation board, boiler flues and old water tanks. It is often hidden behind other materials and can only be confirmed by testing.

When asbestos is broken or crushed it releases fibres that can cause serious lung disease, often many years later. General skips are tipped and sorted at transfer stations, which would disturb the material and expose workers. Asbestos in a skip contaminates the entire load, and the supplier will refuse to collect it or require specialist removal. If you suspect asbestos in waste you have produced, stop work, keep it damp and undisturbed, and seek specialist advice.

Most asbestos removal work must be carried out by a contractor licensed by the Health and Safety Executive. Some lower-risk, non-licensed work is possible under strict controls, but it still requires proper training and precautions. Once removed, asbestos must be double-wrapped in heavy-duty polythene or approved bags, sealed and labelled. A registered carrier then collects it with a hazardous waste consignment note in England and Wales, or a special waste consignment note in Scotland, and takes it to an authorised facility.

On refurbishment and demolition projects, asbestos is usually removed first, before general strip-out begins. We can coordinate asbestos disposal alongside skips for mixed construction waste and other hazardous waste, keeping each stream separate with the right paperwork, subject to supplier availability in your area.