Association statement on the professional disposal of construction and demolition waste containing asbestos

Asbestos is a pollutant that was widely used in buildings in the past and is therefore still frequently found in today’s building stock. However, even minor asbestos contents in building products prevent their recycling or other utilization according to the current legal situation. A “0-fibre approach” is currently being pursued within the LAGA M23. The specification states that “waste containing asbestos may not be disposed of in sorting and treatment plants, even if – mathematically – the proportion of fibres is less than 0.1 % by weight”. Associations of the construction and waste disposal industry therefore agree that there is an urgent need for action in the professional disposal of construction and demolition waste containing asbestos.

The ongoing discussions in the LAGA regarding the M23, which records that no asbestos may get into recycling plants, must be clarified. In order to guarantee resource-saving and environmentally compatible recycling of materials from demolition in the future, the current existing regulations must be adapted and new criteria established for the handling of asbestos.

For this reason, eight industry associations have now joined forces and drawn up a joint statement to the BMU and LAGA. In that paper, the associations call for the creation of a mandatory, legally secure framework for a pragmatic handling of construction and demolition waste containing asbestos.

The associations statement can be found here.