Asbestos waste is disposed of separately from ordinary construction waste: it is dampened, packed tightly in plastic, labelled as asbestos waste and taken to a waste centre that accepts asbestos. The price is set by the price list of the waste management company in your area. Before anything else, though, it pays to confirm in a laboratory whether the material contains asbestos at all – if it does not, it is ordinary construction waste.
What is asbestos waste and why is it handled separately?
Asbestos waste means demolished material that contains asbestos. Typical examples include asbestos cement sheets, old pipe insulation, tile adhesives, fillers and plastic floor coverings with their adhesives. Asbestos waste is classified as hazardous waste and must not be mixed with other construction, mixed or household waste.
The reason is simple: when an asbestos-containing material breaks, fibres can be released into the air you breathe. Separate packaging and handling ensure that no dust spreads during loading, transport or reception, and that the waste ends up in a place where it is handled correctly.
How should asbestos waste be packed?
The aim of packaging is that no dust escapes from the material at any stage. The general principles are these:
- Dampening: wet the material lightly before handling and packing so that the fibres stay bound.
- Tight plastic: pack the waste in double, heavy-duty plastic or in sealed waste sacks and tape the seams. Sheets should be packed whole, without sawing or breaking them.
- Labelling: mark every package clearly, for example with the text "Asbestos waste – do not breathe the dust".
- Careful handling: do not throw or drop the packages, so that the plastic does not tear.
Waste management companies may have their own additional instructions, for example on package size or material, so check them before you start.
Where does asbestos waste go?
People often talk about taking asbestos waste to the landfill. In practice, asbestos waste is taken to the waste centre of the waste management company in your area, or to another reception site that accepts asbestos. Not all waste stations accept asbestos, and at many sites the delivery must be agreed or notified in advance. So check with your own municipality's waste management company:
- which reception site accepts asbestos waste,
- whether a booking or advance notice is needed,
- how the waste must be packed and labelled,
- whether there are separate instructions for small household quantities.
In larger renovations, asbestos waste is often collected in a separate skip whose contents are delivered to a waste centre that accepts asbestos. Read more about asbestos skips and the rules for them.
How much does asbestos disposal cost?
The cost of asbestos disposal depends on the waste company's price list, the amount of waste and whether you deliver it yourself or use a skip or a transport service. Prices vary by region, so you can only get an exact price from the waste management company in your area. Ask at least whether reception is charged by weight or by load size, whether there is a minimum charge for small amounts, and whether transport is included if you do not deliver the waste yourself.
Because separate handling of asbestos waste usually costs more than ordinary construction waste, uncertainty can easily become expensive. If clean material is treated as asbestos waste just to be safe, you pay for separate handling for nothing. If, on the other hand, asbestos-containing material is disposed of as ordinary waste, the rules are broken and other people are exposed to dust.
Disposing of asbestos cement sheets – what to keep in mind?
Asbestos cement sheets, known in Finland by brand names such as minerite and eternit, have been used for example on facades, roofs and in interior boarding. An intact sheet is hard and dense, but sawing, drilling or breaking it releases dust. So the most important thing when disposing of asbestos cement sheets is to remove them as intact as possible, dampen them and pack them tightly in plastic.
Not every old-looking fibre cement sheet contains asbestos, however. You cannot tell reliably from a sheet's age or appearance, so it is worth analysing a sample before the sheets are removed.
When should demolition be left to professionals?
Demolishing asbestos-containing material is licensed work. Larger quantities and the actual demolition work must be carried out by a company licensed for asbestos removal. The contractor takes care of enclosure, negative pressure, protection and notifications to the authorities, and usually also packs the resulting waste and delivers it for reception. You can find more information on the asbestos removal page.
When a contractor does the demolition, the transport and handover of the waste are accompanied by a waste transfer document showing where the waste came from and who received it. Ask the contractor where the waste was delivered and keep that information with the other renovation documents.
Test first: is the material even asbestos?
Asbestos cannot be identified by eye. An old sheet, adhesive or filler may contain asbestos or be completely clean, and its appearance does not reveal the difference. That is why the most sensible first step before demolition and waste handling is a laboratory analysis.
- Negative result: the material does not contain asbestos, so it is handled as ordinary construction waste according to your area's instructions.
- Positive result: you know that demolition and waste handling must follow the rules for asbestos.
The result applies to the material tested. If several different materials or layers are to be removed, it is worth taking a separate sample of each. Take the sample according to the sampling instructions and also read how to protect yourself when sampling.
How Onelab helps
Onelab is a laboratory in Espoo that specialises in asbestos analysis. We do not carry out demolition or handle waste; we analyse material samples with a JEOL SEM-EDS electron microscope. The analysis costs €39.90 + VAT per sample, and the same price applies to all orders of 1–100 samples; for projects of more than 100 samples the price is negotiable. The result is emailed to you typically on the same day the sample arrives at the laboratory. Postage is not included in the price.
Once you know the result, you also know whether the waste needs separate asbestos handling at all. You can order the analysis online and send the sample by post.