Asbestos dumping becomes commonplace
TOXIC WASTE: More B.C. transfer stations will be needed as dangerous material is removed from buildings
Al Johnson understands that home builders and renovators across Metro Vancouver diligently try to satisfy WorkSafeBC’s health and safety requirements.
A bigger concern for the vice-president of prevention services at WorkSafeBC is what happens to building materials — which often contain asbestos — when it comes time to dispose of them.
Municipalities across B.C. are faced with a frustrating problem: illegally dumped garbage that includes asbestos drywall and flooring. It’s a costly issue that has become an increased burden on sanitation departments across the province. The City of Vancouver spent about $50,000 in 2016 tackling illegal dumping.
Jerome Klett, owner of Richmond-based asbestos abatement and removal company 4W’s Demo, said he has seen a large increase in the amount of dumped drywall and asbestos-containing materials around Metro Vancouver. With clear guidelines on what to do when you find asbestos, Klett says he cannot understand why people continue to dump it on the side of the road.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me, and the penalties for being caught are probably more expensive than paying the fee to dump it properly,” Klett said, noting he first saw the problem arising around a year ago. “It’s the same guys who want to cut corners and give companies like ours a bad name.”
While paying the fee might be more expensive, many companies dump asbestos in inconspicuous areas that do not bring attention to themselves — often by the same owners who cut corners and put people at risk of exposure. Klett said a prime example of this was a massive load of asbestos-containing drywall that was dumped on the side of No. 3 Road in Richmond in September.
The flip side of dumping, Klett believes, is the fact that it takes so long for city crews to come by and safely remove what has been dumped. In the No. 3 Road situation, it was more than a week until crews came to remove it.
Recently, a Surrey disposal site was fined a total of $58,000 for accepting excessive amounts of waste, including asbestos, between 2011 to 2013.
For years, ignorance of proper waste disposal processes has been exacerbated by the scarcity of places to take asbestos materials. Experts believe a lot more asbestos will need to be removed from homes and buildings in the future, requiring more transfer stations.
“A homeowner didn’t have anywhere to take asbestos waste or asbestos drywall,” Johnson said. “Now, some of these regional districts and municipalities have set up these programs where you can bring your drywall to them.”
Most B.C. facilities cannot handle the volume of asbestos materials required to make the business both profitable and safe. But Johnson notes that pilot projects have launched in Langley and Nanaimo, with Chilliwack recently allowing asbestos-containing waste at its Bailey Landfill.
One asbestos abatement contractor estimates that 90 per cent of asbestos waste from B.C. is eventually transferred to Alberta, where environmental firms and asbestos removal companies can send asbestos waste in significantly larger quantities.