Can I Take Asbestos to the Tip in Harrogate?
Yes, and free of charge, which makes North Yorkshire the most generous council in our area on this by a distance. Small quantities of cement bonded asbestos are taken at seven of their sites. If you have more than ten sheets, ring them first so they can check there is container space. Whatever North Yorkshire Council allows, none of them accept asbestos from a trade or business, and none of them will lift it for you. If the asbestos came out of paid work, or you cannot handle it safely yourself, a licensed carrier is the route. Kruze collects asbestos across Harrogate and West Yorkshire and takes it to a licensed specialist disposal site under Waste Carrier Licence CBDU597687. We do not carry out licensed asbestos removal, and the difference matters, so it is explained below. Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
First, the safety part, because this is not ordinary waste
Asbestos is only dangerous when its fibres are released into the air, which happens when it is broken, drilled, cut, sanded or snapped. Intact, wetted, double-wrapped asbestos cement handled carefully is a manageable job. The same sheet dropped on a driveway is not.
- Do not break it up to make it fit. That is the single worst thing you can do with it.
- Wet it thoroughly with clean water before handling, so any loose fibres stay put.
- Double wrap it and seal every edge. Every council on this list requires it and refuses waste that is not wrapped.
- If it is not cement bonded, stop. Sprayed coatings, lagging, insulating board and loose fill are licensed work and must be handled by an HSE licensed contractor. Not by you, and not by us.
The Health and Safety Executive publishes the definitive guidance at hse.gov.uk/asbestos. If you are unsure which type you have, assume the worse one until somebody qualified tells you otherwise.
What North Yorkshire Council allows
| Cost | Free of charge. No other council we cover takes asbestos for nothing |
| Where | Seven North Yorkshire household waste recycling centres |
| What is accepted | Cement bonded asbestos, in small quantities |
| Wrapping | Double bagged, or two layers of thick plastic, joints and openings sealed with strong tape |
| Over ten sheets | Contact the council before visiting so they can confirm container space. A sheet is about 1.8m by 1.2m |
| Trade waste | Not accepted on the household scheme |
Source: North Yorkshire Council.
The good news: free, at seven sites
Free, at seven sites, is a genuinely good deal and we will say so. Compare it with Leeds, where the same job starts at £72.31 whatever the volume. If you are in the Harrogate area with cement bonded asbestos and a car you can load safely, the council route is the right one and you do not need us.
The rule that catches nearly everyone: trade waste
Every council in this list refuses asbestos from a trade or business. Not discourages, refuses. And the definition is wider than people expect.
It catches a landlord clearing a property, a sole trader stripping out a unit, anyone whose asbestos came from paid work, and in Calderdale’s case it even catches a builder dropping your own asbestos off for you, because the moment someone else carries it, it stops being household waste.
That is not a technicality invented to sell collections. It is the duty of care in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and asbestos additionally requires a consignment note to travel legally. The liability sits with whoever produced the waste, which is usually you.
What Kruze does, and what it does not
We are honest about which half of this job we do, because getting it wrong would be worse than useless.
What we do: collect asbestos cement, transport it under our carrier registration, deliver it to a licensed specialist disposal site, and issue the consignment note the law requires. Kruze is registered with the Environment Agency as CBDU597687, upper tier, as a Carrier, Broker and Dealer, and you can check that on the public register.
What we do not do: licensed asbestos removal. We do not strip sprayed coatings, lagging or insulating board, and we do not work inside an enclosure. That is HSE licensed work and needs a licensed contractor. If that is what your job needs, we will tell you and we will not quote for it.
Pricing. Asbestos is not priced off a standard load table, because the consignment note is a fixed cost on every job regardless of volume. Send a photo on WhatsApp and you get a real number back rather than a range.
When the council route is genuinely better
Use North Yorkshire Council. Genuinely, for most householders in the Harrogate area this is the right answer and we would rather say so than talk you out of it. Cement bonded asbestos, small quantities, free of charge, at seven sites. Nothing we can offer beats free.
Use a licensed carrier when it is trade waste, which the household scheme refuses. Or when you have more than about ten sheets and the container space check turns into a problem. Or when it is not cement bonded, in which case neither the council nor we can take it and you need a licensed contractor.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes, for small quantities of cement bonded asbestos at seven North Yorkshire sites. It is the only council in our area that does not charge.
What if I have a lot of it?
Over about ten sheets, roughly 1.8m by 1.2m each, contact the council before you visit so they can make sure there is container space.
Do you do asbestos surveys or testing?
No. If you need to know what you have, that is a job for an accredited surveyor. We can collect once you know it is cement bonded.
Will I get paperwork?
Yes. Asbestos travels on a consignment note, which is a legal requirement rather than a nicety, and you get a copy.
What if it turns out not to be cement bonded?
We stop and tell you, and point you at a licensed contractor. We will not take work we are not the right people for.
Book an asbestos collection in Harrogate
Send a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you honestly whether this is a job for us, for the council, or for a licensed contractor.
Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
Fridges are a separate problem again
Refrigeration is controlled under WEEE and the F-gas rules rather than the asbestos regime, and right now two of the councils we cover have stopped accepting fridges altogether. Read the Harrogate fridge and freezer rules.
Asbestos rules in the other areas we cover
Every council sets these differently and the gap between them is wide, so the guide is written separately for each.
See also: the Harrogate tip van and trailer permit rules, which decide whether you can get the asbestos there in the first place.
Written by Sandeep KV, Founder of Kruze. Kruze is a licensed waste carrier and broker based in Leeds, Waste Carrier Licence CBDU597687, serving Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Harrogate and Barnsley. Call or WhatsApp 07436 120271.
If the board is pre-2000s and textured, treat it as asbestos first. Otherwise see plasterboard at the Harrogate tip.
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