Asbestos Removal

Croydon Park

Hazardous Removal Company provides licensed asbestos testing, removal and disposal throughout Croydon Park and neighbouring Croydon. Before anything else, one clarification that saves a lot of confusion: Croydon Park and Croydon are two different suburbs, about three kilometres apart, with different postcodes and different councils. Croydon Park is 2133, roughly 12 kilometres south-west of the CBD. Croydon is 2132, about 9 kilometres west. We service both.

Which council covers your street?

This matters more here than almost anywhere else in Sydney, because both suburbs are split across council boundaries.

Croydon Park is divided between three local government areas: the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, the Municipality of Burwood and Inner West Council. Croydon is split between Inner West Council and Burwood.

Two properties on opposite sides of the same street can fall under different councils, with different approval requirements and different waste rules. Give us the address and we will confirm which applies before any work is quoted.

Why asbestos in Croydon Park is a renovation problem, not a construction one

This is the single most useful thing to understand about asbestos in these two suburbs, and it is the opposite of what most people assume.

Croydon Park was subdivided between 1877 and 1882 and separated from Croydon in 1914. The Goodlet conservation area came from the 1919 subdivision of John Hay Goodlet’s Canterbury Farm Estate and was uniformly developed with detached single storey brick inter-war Californian bungalows with terracotta tile roofs. The Hillside area follows an 1882 subdivision pattern with rear laneways and Federation Queen Anne and inter-war Californian bungalow housing. Over in Croydon, the Malvern Hill Estate was subdivided in 1909 under covenants that required brick or stone construction roofed with slate or terracotta tile.

Now the key fact. The NSW Government dates the manufacture of asbestos cement sheeting to the 1940s through to 1987. A brick bungalow built in 1909, 1919 or 1930 was therefore built before asbestos cement sheeting was in common residential use.

So the asbestos in these homes did not arrive with the builder. It arrived decades later, in mid-century renovations, and it is concentrated in exactly the places renovations happen:

• Bathrooms re-sheeted from the 1950s onward, often with Tilux behind the tiles
• Laundries added or relined, commonly with Versilux sheeting
• Fibro garages and carports built to house a car the original home never had
• Boundary fences replaced in fibro
• Eaves and soffit linings replaced during re-roofing
• Vinyl floor tiles and lino backing in kitchens and laundries

The practical consequence: with a Federation or inter-war home here, the construction date tells you very little. The renovation history tells you everything. A 1920s bungalow that was modernised in 1965 is far more likely to contain asbestos than one left largely untouched.

Heritage conservation areas change what you can do

Both suburbs carry significant heritage protection, and it directly affects renovation and demolition.

The Inner West portion of Croydon contains nine heritage conservation areas, including Malvern Hill, Gads Hill, Howe’s Estate, the Ivanhoe Estate, Wetherill Street, Birriga Road, Bridges Avenue, Lang Street and Edwin Street North. The Inner West portion of Croydon Park contains the Goodlet and Hillside conservation areas. In Burwood, the Malvern Hill Heritage Conservation Area was gazetted in February 1986 and takes in The Strand and the heritage listed railway station. Part of Croydon Park also falls inside the Ashbury Heritage Conservation Area under Canterbury-Bankstown.

Inside a conservation area, changes normally require development consent, and the fast complying development pathway for demolition is far more restricted. Burwood Council requires a DA exemption application even for minor like-for-like works.

If you are planning a demolition or a significant strip out in either suburb, check the heritage status before you plan the programme, not after. We can confirm it with you.

Demolition in Croydon Park

Where demolition is approved, asbestos removal comes first, and there is a documentation requirement here that catches builders out.

Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation, where more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos is removed as part of a development, a contract showing that a licensed removalist has been engaged must be given to the Principal Certifier, and that contract must name the lawful landfill the waste is going to. A receipt from the landfill operator must then be provided afterwards.

In other words, the paperwork trail runs from the contract through to the tip docket, and a certifier can hold up your job without it. We supply that documentation as standard.

None of the three councils will take asbestos

Inner West Council states plainly that it cannot assist with asbestos removal and directs residents to a licensed removalist. Canterbury-Bankstown excludes asbestos from its household clean-up and requires disposal at a landfill lawfully able to receive it, naming Cleanaway Lucas Heights Resource Recovery Park on Little Forest Road as the nearest authorised facility. Burwood Council excludes building and renovation material including asbestos from its clean-up service, and its own asbestos policy states there are no waste facilities within the Burwood local government area that accept asbestos waste.

There is no licensed asbestos disposal point in Croydon Park, Croydon, Burwood or the Inner West. The realistic options are Lucas Heights or Wetherill Park, and the EPA advises that many landfills require a booking at least 24 hours in advance.

What the law requires in New South Wales

Unlicensed removal. Permitted for non-friable asbestos totalling no more than 10 square metres. You must follow the Code of Practice, understand the health risks, and provide asbestos awareness training to anyone helping. Any amount of friable asbestos requires a licence, with no exception.

Licence classes. Class B covers more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos. Class A covers friable asbestos, non-friable asbestos and asbestos contaminated dust.

Clearance certificates. A clearance inspection is required at the completion of all licensed removal work, before reoccupation. Friable work requires an independent licensed asbestos assessor. Non-friable work may be cleared by a competent person or an assessor. Either way the inspector must be independent of the business that did the removal.

Areas we service

Around Croydon Park we cover Enfield, Belfield, Campsie, Strathfield South, Ashfield, Ashbury, Burwood Heights and Croydon. Around Croydon we also cover Burwood, Haberfield, Five Dock and Concord.

Frequently asked questions

Is Croydon Park the same as Croydon?
No. They are separate suburbs about three kilometres apart, with different postcodes and different councils. Croydon Park is 2133, Croydon is 2132.

My house is from the 1920s, before asbestos was common. Am I in the clear?
Not necessarily, and this is the most common misconception here. Asbestos cement sheeting was manufactured from the 1940s to 1987, so it was almost never in the original build of a Federation or inter-war home. It was added later during renovations, most often in bathrooms, laundries, garages and fencing.

My property is in a heritage conservation area. Does that change the asbestos work?
It does not change the asbestos rules, which are set by SafeWork NSW, but it can change what approvals the surrounding work needs, particularly for demolition or altering the street facing elevation.

Which council do I deal with?
Depends on the street. Croydon Park spans Canterbury-Bankstown, Burwood and Inner West. Croydon spans Inner West and Burwood. Send us the address and we will confirm.

Can I put fibro out for the council clean-up?
No. All three councils exclude asbestos and building material from their clean-up services, and none has a disposal facility within its area.

My builder needs asbestos paperwork for the certifier. Can you provide it?
Yes. For development work involving more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos, the Principal Certifier needs the removal contract naming the landfill, and the landfill receipt afterwards. We supply both.