Asbestos removal is often required when older homes are renovated.
A free asbestos removal trial will be rolled out in NSW in an effort to reduce illegal dumping and support the prohibitive costs of renovations involving the material.
The government launched a NSW Asbestos Plan of Action on Monday and a two year, $16m trial that will begin next year.
The program will include free pick up and disposal to hopefully stop asbestos showing up in public spaces and minimise the 4,000 asbestos-linked deaths each year.
Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the government aims to increase resource recovery and reduce barriers for disposing “problematic waste” to make it safer for workers and the community.
“One in three houses built before 1990 contains asbestos,” Ms Sharpe said.
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Asbestos-contaminated waste illegally dumped near Port Adelaide. Picture: EPA
“That’s why it’s important to make it cheaper and easier for NSW families to dispose of these materials,” she said.
Asbestos is relatively safe if left undisturbed but the fibres release when it is moved, drilled or agitated in any way. The fibres can lodge in the airways and promote cancer.
More than nine in 10 people diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated with asbestos exposure, reported possible or probable contact with the material, according to the Australian Mesothelioma Registry.
The far majority, 94 per cent, of respondents to AMR’s 2025 survey said they were exposed outside of the workplace, predominantly due to home renovations.
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Specialist cleaners seen removing materials. Picture: Emma Brasier
Secretary of the United Services Union NSW Graeme Kelly OAM said offering free asbestos disposal will “make a huge difference in fixing this problem”.
“Illegal dumping of asbestos is a scourge,” Mr Kelly said.
“It harms the community, the environment and workers who have to handle dangerous waste when cleaning it up.
“It’s making sure workers will have the training and testing they need to identify and handle asbestos waste safely and dispose of it correctly,” he said.
As part of 2025’s Asbestos Awareness Month, Clare Collins Chair of the Asbestos Education Committee and campaign director said Australia was one of the top users of asbestos prior to the 2003 national ban.
Asbestos removal is often needed after renovation projects.
“Because Australia was one of the highest consumers … Australia continues to record one of the highest incidences of mesothelioma in the world,” Mr Collins said.
“Tragic cases of relatively young people being diagnosed with mesothelioma continue to be recorded because of exposure to fibres as children when their parents built homes using [asbestos] unaware of the risks,” she said.
