Minns government ends ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to asbestos waste

Waste containing any amount of asbestos is currently sent straight to landfill. That is about to change.

Asbestos-contaminated waste will eventually be used on building sites instead of being sent to landfill, after the state government abandoned NSW’s zero-tolerance approach after being told it was unsustainable and ineffective.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal that Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has given “in-principle” support to adopting a “threshold” permitting building waste containing small amounts of asbestos to be re-used in “non-contact” settings.

It means that asbestos-contaminated waste could be used in building foundations, to fill holes, and in landscaping – instead of being sent straight to landfill.

The landmark change follows recommendation from Chief Scientist Hugh Durrant-Whyte in a major report into asbestos management.

Prof Durrant-Whyte suggested that material containing less than 0.001 per cent asbestos, or 10mg of asbestos per kilogram of material, could be re-used – in line with standards in other jurisdictions.

Asbestos contaminated mulch was found at 79 sites across Sydney last year. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

A “non-contact scenario” would require any material containing trace amounts of asbestos to be covered; it could be used, for example, to level a site before being covered in concrete.

Re-using any building waste containing “visible” asbestos would continue to be illegal.

While there is no time frame for when the rules will change, the Environment Protection Authority will launch consultations to “determine the threshold to be implemented in NSW”.

Currently, material containing asbestos in any concentration is sent to landfill.

The new guidelines would allow material with trace amounts of asbestos to be re-used, but only in “non-contact” settings. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

However, Prof Durrant-Whyte found that the zero-tolerance approach was unsustainable and ineffective.

Ms Sharpe said the report made clear that “zero tolerance can never be truly achieved due to the prevalence of asbestos in our built environment”.

“We need a risk management system … to provide the safest management system that minimises health risks.”

However, Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia president Barry Robson condemned the government for abandoning zero-tolerance.

NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte. Picture: NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe. Picture: NewsWire/Nikki Short

“We lose 4000 Australians a year to an asbestos related disease, so any relaxation of the total ban on the use of asbestos is not good,” he said.

Opposition Environment spokesman James Griffin called for Ms Sharpe to give more details about when the rules will change.

“This is a watershed moment in the way we are handling this sort of waste. 

“Penny Sharpe should be upfront on what the next steps look like and a time frame for when they’re implemented,” he said.

The major rule change comes after asbestos was discovered in mulch across vast areas of Sydney, closing dozens of public parks last year.

All 79 sites where asbestos was discovered have been cleared of contamination.

The Environmental Protection Agency last year launched a prosecution against the company at the centre of that saga, laying 102 charges against three companies over the alleged asbestos contamination.

Charges were brought against VE Resource Recovery Pty Ltd, and two entities trading as Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility (GRRF).

VE Resource Recovery’s director, billionaire developer Arnold Vitocco, has also been charged.

The companies have denied the allegations and are fighting the charges.

Do you have a story for The Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]

Originally published as Minns government ends ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to asbestos waste