A Bit About Asbestos
A Bit About Asbestos—and Why the Landfill Is Making Changes
As of April 2, 2024, the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine has implemented a new policy for disposing of construction and demolition waste. This policy, a new directive from WorkSafeBC, is in place to protect the safety of the public, contractors, and staff against any material that might contain asbestos.
You’ve probably heard of asbestos and how dangerous it is. It’s a building material, usually for sound absorption and fire and heat resistance, that you might find in ceilings, flooring, walls, pipes, insulation, and more. However, we eventually learned that asbestos can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, and we stopped using it in 1990. But that means there are still an awful lot of older buildings out there that may contain asbestos. As those buildings are renovated or demolished, they can pose a risk to anyone who might come into contact with the building materials.
How should you dispose of building materials?
First of all, NEVER put building materials into your curbside carts—that includes black, blue, or green bins. This has always been the case, and now, it’s more important than ever. If building materials are found in curbside collection carts, the City would incur costs associated with remediation because we’ll have no proof that those items don’t contain asbestos. Anyone putting their construction waste in their curbside carts is essentially using taxpayer money to pay for their bad behaviour. For real. Don’t do it. (Don’t forget: our trucks have cameras!)
What should you do instead?
Head to the Thornhill Transfer Station and show proof of home ownership within the RDKS. You’ll also need to show either:
- A clear date stamp on each of the materials
- A test result from an approved laboratory
If you cannot provide either one, don’t panic—that doesn’t mean you should toss it in the bush! If the structure at the address where the materials were taken from was built before 1990, the waste will simply be treated as Asbestos Containing Material.
To dispose of any materials deemed Asbestos Containing Materials, they must be:
- Doubled bagged in 6-mil clear plastic bags
- Securely sealed, either goosenecked-tied or taped
- Labelled as asbestos
In addition, the load of materials must not:
- Exceed 5m³
- Exceed 1,000 kg
But if you’re doing a bigger project, take note that just means that a few more conditions must be met. A load greater than 5 m³ is considered controlled waste and will be subjected to a controlled waste application. Likewise, if you transport more than 1,000 kg of waste material you are subject to a License to Transport and a Generator registration. You can check the link below if this applies to your project.
The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine has some excellent resources on their website about this change, so please have a look!
