Construction & Demolition

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Construction & Demolition Waste

Construction and demolition (C&D), including building and demolition (B&D) activities can generate a wide range of different waste materials. This waste is not just rubbish and unwanted material, but also includes:

  • excavated material such as rock and soil
  • waste asphalt, bricks, concrete, plasterboard, timber and vegetation
  • asbestos and contaminated soil

Construction and Demolition Waste has to be transported to a place that can lawfully accept it and both the owner of the waste and the transporter are legally responsible for proving the waste was transported to a lawful place.

Refer to NSW EPA website ‘Construction and demolition waste’ for detailed information and advice regarding legislation, responsibilities, fines and penalties.

The Construction and Demolition Waste Management Toolkit and Owners Guide are designed to help procurement officers and construction project managers to engage contractors and work on contracts that involve construction and demolition including the management and disposal of waste.

Household Building & Renovation

When renovating your home, you can come into contact with dangerous chemicals including lead in paint or asbestos in walls. You need to take care when handling materials such as treated timber which contains pesticides and must ensure you dispose of your building waste responsibly.

Household building waste can be diverted from landfill through:

  • reuse and recycling
  • resale and reprocessing of materials such as concrete, bricks and timber

By diverting household building waste from landfill, you can avoid the negative environmental impacts associated with landfill and the waste of valuable materials. Recycling and reusing household building waste:

  • reduces material extraction, which protects air quality
  • reduces water pollution, energy use and habitat loss
  • generates fewer greenhouse gases than manufacturing building products from new materials

 

Other Waste Services & Information

NSW EPA Website

Planet Ark’s 'RecyclingNearYou'

Recycler Guide

For help with selecting a reputable recycler, see Choosing the Right Recycler Guide

Australia's guide to environmentally sustainable homes

Search the Australian Government’s Your Home website for information about building and demolition waste.

Disposing of Asbestos waste

Most asbestos products in your home are safe if they’re in good condition and unlikely to be damaged or disturbed. However, if asbestos products are damaged, weathered, worked on, incorrectly handled, or transported, their fibres can be released into the air posing a serious health risk if inhaled.

Asbestos removal is a health risk if you don’t know how to do it safely. If you need to remove asbestos from your property, use a licensed asbestos removalist.

You can find a licensed asbestos removalist on the SafeWork NSW website.

If you are legally able to remove and dispose of asbestos material from your home, you can only use a facility licenced to accept asbestos from the public. Before taking asbestos to the facility for disposal, you need to contact the facility beforehand to confirm:

  • whether they accept household asbestos
  • any requirements for delivering asbestos to the facility eg unloading by hand or by tipping
  • whether you need to book to dispose of asbestos (many facilities require a booking at least 24 hours in advance)

For a full list of licensed facilities accepting asbestos, visit ‘NSW EPA's 'Facilities that accept household asbestos' or check the following table: 

Facility

Address

Phone

Elizabeth Drive Landfill Kemps Creek

1725 Elizabeth Drive

KEMPS CREEK 2178

1300 651 116 or

13 13 35

Horsley Park Waste Management Facility

716-56 Wallgrove Road

HORSLEY PARK 2175

(02) 9620 1944

Lucas Heights Waste & Recycling Centre

New Illawarra Road

LUCAS HEIGHTS 2234

1300 651 116 or

13 13 35

Wetherill Park Resource Recovery Facility

20 Davis Road

WETHERILL PARK 2164

1300 651 116 or

13 13 35

Please note - licencing or conditions of these facilities may change so responsibility for checking these details is with the person disposing of the asbestos waste before they visit the facility.

It is illegal to:

  • put asbestos waste in the kerbside bins. It is dangerous for Council staff and can contaminate otherwise recyclable waste streams,
  • put asbestos in an uncovered skip bin or skip bin not approved to hold asbestos,
  • reuse, recycle or illegally dump asbestos products or asbestos contaminated waste not to comply with the requirements listed above,
  • fail to comply with the requirements listed above.

For more information about the different forms of asbestos or finding asbestos in your home or soil:

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