How Much Does Asbestos Collection Cost in the UK?

What does it cost to have asbestos collected?

Collection of asbestos that is already wrapped starts from £135, plus VAT. Most cost £260 to £450. That's for sheets or bags already taken down, wrapped and ready to go.

For your own price, tell us three things: roughly how many sheets or bags, whether they're wrapped, and your postcode. If it isn't wrapped yet, say so, and we'll quote for the right job. The quote is free, with no obligation.

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Not sure it's asbestos cement? See what an asbestos test costs.

Still fixed to the roof? That's removal, a separate job with its own price. See our guide to taking down an asbestos garage roof or ask about asbestos removal. How we work out these prices.

How does asbestos collection work?

You tell us what you have, we give you a price, and a registered waste carrier takes it away. That's a firm registered with the environmental regulator to move waste. There are four steps:

1. Tell us what you have: the three details above.
2. Get a free quote. There's no obligation.
3. It's collected by a registered waste carrier. They must fill in a consignment note: the form that records what the waste is, who took it and where it went.
4. It goes to a disposal site permitted to accept asbestos. Ask for a copy of the consignment note as your record.

A collection quote should cover three things: collection by a registered waste carrier, the consignment note, and disposal at a permitted site. Ask for the carrier's registration number with it.

This guide is about asbestos cement, the hard grey sheet used on garage and shed roofs. Insulating board, pipe lagging and sprayed coatings are higher risk. HSE says only an HSE-licensed contractor should remove them, so they're a removal job. We arrange that too.

Why is there a minimum charge for a few sheets or bags?

Because asbestos is hazardous waste, and the rules are the same for one bag as for a full load. Any firm that collects it must be a registered waste carrier, fill in a consignment note and take it to a site permitted to accept it.

That's why our collection price is a starting price, not a price per sheet.

Weight is only part of the cost. Landfill tax is charged by weight, at £130.75 a tonne from 1 April 2026. But the carrier's journey and the consignment note are the same whether the van carries one bag or a full load.

Will the council collect asbestos?

A few will, within set limits.

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What councils offer

Of the 189 councils and waste authorities we've checked, 12 say they collect asbestos from homes. 4 are free up to a set amount and 5 publish a charge. For 3 we found no published price.

60say the council doesn't collect it, or that its bulky waste service won't take it. For most of the rest we found no statement about a home collection.

In London, a service run by the City of London says it covers every borough except Hillingdon. See what each London borough does.

Here are their published terms, checked against each council's own page up to 11 October 2026. Where a council names the type it collects, it's cement or bonded asbestos.

Belfast, Essex and York also describe a collection, but we found no published price. Council prices change, and some include VAT. Where a council charges, compare it with a quote from us before you book.

Council schemes are for small amounts that have already been taken down and wrapped. For anything more, or anything still in place, we arrange the whole job. You can also check what your council does about asbestos disposal in our lookup.

How to wrap asbestos before it is collected

Keep the sheets whole, double wrap or double bag them, and label each package as asbestos. That's HSE's guidance for people who work with asbestos:

• Keep sheets whole. Don't break up large pieces to make them fit.
• Double wrap or double bag. Sheets go in heavy polythene sheeting (1000 gauge). Smaller pieces go in two bags, one inside the other.
• Label it as asbestos, and don't overfill a bag.

Several councils that collect also ask for each package to be taped shut. Ask the firm collecting where it wants the packages left. The full method is in our guide on how to wrap and transport asbestos safely.

Who is allowed to collect asbestos?

Any firm you pay to collect asbestos must be a registered waste carrier. When we arrange a collection, a registered waste carrier does the work, as part of our asbestos disposal service.

The check matters because the law puts part of the responsibility on you. You must take reasonable steps to hand your waste only to someone allowed to take it. That includes a business that approaches you and offers to take it away, according to official guidance for England and Wales.

In England the fixed penalty is £150 to £600.

The check takes a few minutes, whoever collects it:

• Ask for the waste carrier registration number with your quote.
• Look it up on the public register for your nation: the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA in Scotland or DAERA in Northern Ireland.
• In England, numbers start CBDU, and you need an upper tier carrier.
• Keep a note of the number and the date you checked.

What paperwork do you get when asbestos is collected?

Ask for a copy of the consignment note. It's the form that records what the waste is, who took it and where it went.

You don't fill it in. When a firm collects asbestos from a home in England or Wales, the firm completes the note. Guidance for England says it's in the firm's name, with your address on it.

Northern Ireland has its own version of the note.

Key takeaways

• Get a quote for the whole load: our collection price is a starting price, not a price per sheet.
• Leave sheets whole, double wrap or double bag them, and label every package.
• Check the firm is a registered waste carrier before you pay.
• Ask for a copy of the consignment note when the asbestos leaves.

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