Asbestos

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral fibre which was previously used in building work due to its strength and resistance to heat and fire. It is now banned because it is dangerous if inhaled. Asbestos can still be found in older properties, especially in ceiling tiles, internal walls, insulating boards and pipe laggings.

It's very hazardous. You should take great care when handling it and never bring it to any of our civic amenity sites or recycling centres

Guidelines for removing asbestos

You should always check with us or with the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland to see if asbestos can be safely removed before it is collected. If it can, you should follow these steps:

wear protective overalls and dispose of them afterwards in the bags provided
wear an asbestos-proof dust mask
keep other people and animals out of the area
don't break up asbestos, as breaking it releases the dangerous fibres into the air
dampen the area with water
sweep up the dust with a damp cloth, and seal it in the bags provided
don't use a vacuum to remove asbestos dust
place the asbestos in the disposal bags provided and seal them with strong tape if possible
don't overfill bags. Let us know if you are having difficulty fitting the material into the bags provided
make sure there are no sharp edges that may cause the bags to split.

Once you remove and bag up the asbestos, leave it at the agreed collection point.

Book an asbestos collection online

We provide a limited collection service to households in Belfast for cement-based asbestos weighing a maximum of 120kg.

Our asbestos collection service is only available to households within the Belfast City Council electoral area. We can't collect asbestos that has been removed by a contractor working on your home.

It may take up to one month to set up a collection in your area. We'll call you when we've organised a collection near you and ask you to confirm where the asbestos will be left. Please note that we may have to visit your home to decide how best to dispose of the asbestos material. We can only make one collection per household in each 12 month period.

	Book an asbestos collection

Before you book, please read the terms and conditions for online services as well as our privacy statement for online services

You can also book a collection by calling us on 028 9027 0656. You'll need to give us your name, address and telephone number, as well as details of how much asbestos you want us to collect and where it is located.

About the collection service

If your request is approved, we'll:

send you a maximum of two sets of asbestos collection bags
appoint a contractor to collect the bags.

Once you receive your collection bags, you should remove the material using our guidelines for removing asbestos

If you have more asbestos than we can collect, or your asbestos has already been removed by a contractor working on your home, call the Northern Ireland Environment Agency on 028 9056 9710 for a list of companies registered to dispose of asbestos.

For more information about asbestos removal or if you have a query about your order, call us on 028 9027 0656.