The community has a role to play in reporting pollution, environmental hazards or other activities potentially harmful to the environment.
Councils are responsible for dealing with materials, including asbestos, that have been dumped in public areas within their municipality. If you see asbestos dumped in your local area, contact your local council environmental health officer who will arrange for removal and disposal of the dumped material.
The environmental health officer may also contact the EPA which will investigate if the dumped material came from a trade or commercial activity. The EPA has powers under the Environment Protection Act to prosecute if it finds those responsible for dumping the material.
If you see asbestos dumped outside your local area at locations not licensed to receive asbestos, this should be reported via the EPA's 24-hour pollution hotline on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).
If you have confirmed that you have asbestos on your property, the EPA recommends you consult a professional removalist who is licensed by WorkSafe. WorkSafe keeps a list of licensed asbestos removalists(opens in a new window).
A list of transporters permitted to transport asbestos can be found in the prescribed industrial waste database(opens in a new window) by selecting N: Solids/sludges requiring special handling as the waste category and selecting N220 Asbestos as the waste type, or contacting the EPA(opens in a new window) on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 132 842). Further information on the transporting and disposal of asbestos is available in section 6.1 of the EPA's Industrial waste resource guidelines(opens in a new window).
Updated