Asbestos-containing construction materials are still not rare in Latvia, but after their service life they are dangerous waste that harms the environment by polluting the air, soil and groundwater.
“The amount of slate is different in different regions of Latvia. If we look at the districts of Pierīga, it is relatively low – up to 10,000 tons, but if we look at Riga and further regions, districts, the amount reaches 49,000-53,000 tons per district,” said Valsts Atis Treijs, director of the Waste Management Department of the environmental service.
Asbestos is mainly found in the roof coverings of residential houses, farms and industrial buildings; it was often used as a thermal insulation material in Soviet times. When getting rid of an unwanted roof, many choose to shred it to fill potholes on the roads.
“This is categorically unacceptable. If the slate is in one piece on the roof or facade, then this danger is much less than if the waste is broken or physically affected in a different way. Dust particles are released, which are the most dangerous,” Trey explained.
Asbestos is carcinogenic and can cause oncological diseases. If its particles get on the skin or are inhaled, allergies and life-threatening diseases can occur over time.
“Asbestos-related diseases are not immediately apparent, they develop over a long period of time, perhaps as long as 20 years after exposure to asbestos,” Trey said.
One of the options is to hand over the harmful material, but then you have to consider the expenses. On average, about 200 euros per ton, which would be equivalent to 50 sheets of slate.
There are 32 businesses in Latvia that collect asbestos-containing waste. One of them is SIA “ZAAO”.
“Customers are offered two options. We drive to collect this asbestos slate at the customer’s address, then the payment is based on cubic meters. On the other hand, the other option is to deliver the slate to the circulation economy center “Daibe”. Here again, payment is made by weight. In both cases
it is important to pack properly and not to crumble, not to break, to prevent fibers from spreading,”
emphasized Mārtiņš Vīgants, head of the customer service department of “ZAAO”.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development invites poor and low-income households to apply for the support program and hand over slate containing asbestos free of charge. The total amount of funding for the implementation of the support program is 350 thousand euros. A maximum of 3 tons or approximately 150 slate sheets can be disposed of. You can apply for support until May 31.
