Guide
Asbestos removal vs disposal: which one do you actually need?
Updated
Most people searching for asbestos disposal are actually asking one of two different questions, and the answer decides both the price and who is legally allowed to do the work.
The two jobs
- Disposal only
- The material is already down, intact and correctly wrapped, and you need it collected and taken to a site permitted to accept it, with the consignment note paperwork done. This is a waste job.
- Removal and disposal
- The material is still in place. Someone has to take it down under controls that stop fibres being released, package it, and then dispose of it. This is a work-with-asbestos job first and a waste job second.
They are priced differently because they are different work. Removal carries access, controls, labour, and where the work is licensable, notification and a licensed contractor. Disposal alone carries the collection, the haulage and the gate fee. If you are getting quotes, be explicit about which one you are asking for, or you will get back numbers that cannot be compared.
Is your removal licensed work?
HSE sets out that the Control of Asbestos Regulations define licensable work as work where the exposure of workers to asbestos is not sporadic and of low intensity, where the risk assessment cannot clearly demonstrate that the control limit will not be exceeded, work on asbestos coating, and work on asbestos insulating board or asbestos insulation for which the risk assessment demonstrates it is not short duration work (HSE). HSE's examples of licensable work include removing sprayed coatings, work that may disturb pipe lagging, any work involving loose fill insulation, work on asbestos millboard, and work on insulating board where the risk assessment indicates it will not be of short duration.
HSE also notes that the employer of anyone whose work might involve asbestos is responsible for deciding whether the work requires a licensed contractor, and that any decision must be based on the risk rather than on a list. Licensable work must be notified using form ASB5 at least 14 days before work starts, and doing licensable work without a licence is an offence.
The third category people forget: notifiable non-licensed work
Not everything that is not licensable is unregulated. HSE describes notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW) as work that, while not licensable, requires employers to notify the relevant enforcing authority, designate the areas where the work is being done, ensure medical examinations are carried out, and maintain registers of work as health records (HSE). HSE's examples include large-scale removal of textured decorative coatings using steaming or gelling methods, and removal of asbestos cement products where the material has been substantially damaged or where the removal will substantially break it up and create significant dust and debris.
That last example matters for the commonest domestic job of all. An intact asbestos cement garage roof and the same roof after it has been dropped and smashed are not the same job, legally or commercially. Condition changes the category.
How to work out which you need
- Identify the material. If you do not know what it is, a sample analysed by a competent laboratory settles it. Guessing from a photo does not.
- Assess its condition. Damaged, broken or deteriorating material moves up the categories, as HSE's NNLW examples show.
- Decide whether it needs to move at all. Material in good condition that will not be disturbed can often be managed in place rather than removed, which is a real option and usually the cheaper one.
- If it must come out, establish the category before you compare prices, because licensed, notifiable and non-licensed work are three different markets.
- Then ask for like-for-like quotes. Send the job out stating clearly whether you want disposal only or removal and disposal.