As Victoria recovers from COVID lockdowns and business limitations, the construction industry is booming. With the increase in building activity, comes a new challenge – how to deal with the increasing volume of asbestos waste.
According to Victoria’s Asbestos Disposal Management plan, more than 178,000 tonnes of asbestos has been disposed of in the 19-20 period and is forecast to reach 310,000 by 2031.
The state is only equipped with 21 landfills to accept asbestos-containing material. That number could fall in the next thirty years due to the safety requirements associated with appropriate asbestos handling procedures.
One asbestos and environmental consulting company director explained that some larger-scale projects could face delays and budgetary blowouts due to asbestos problems.
“The old method was just to bury it in a hole, but now that storage capacity has started to close up,” he said.
“As you look to Melbourne’s north and west, a lot of the places that were landfill sites are now development sites.
“The longer this stuff is buried there’s a risk the soil around it becomes contaminated … Soil remediation is going to be the next frontier of the asbestos issue.
“The smart developers and builders are taking that on board because it significantly delays their projects.”
Another asbestos remediation company director explained that “there was likely millions of cubic metres contaminated dirt across the state.”
Safety “regulations mean that contaminated soil that would have sat in the ground or made its way to landfill now has to be treated properly.”