Is a permit needed to bring asbestos to a Calgary landfill?

Yes. The City of Calgary requires an Industrial Waste Permit before asbestos can be accepted at the Shepard landfill, and an appointment must be booked in advance. Both apply whether you are a resident bringing material in directly or a commercial hauler.

What you need before you go to Shepard

The Industrial Waste Permit Application carries no fee and is valid for up to one year. Appointments must be requested by 10 a.m. the day before you plan to drop off. The landfill accepts asbestos Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., by appointment only, and is closed on holidays. Shepard is the only City of Calgary facility that accepts asbestos; no other Calgary landfill is approved for it.

Packaging must meet the City of Calgary's requirements: material is wetted before bagging, double-bagged in 6-mil polyethylene, double-wrapped and sealed with duct tape or similar. Loads with rips, tears or openings can be turned away or charged a hard-to-handle surcharge of $275 per load. The current disposal rate is $220 per tonne.

Beyond the City's permit and appointment, asbestos waste is regulated as a dangerous good for transport under Alberta's Dangerous Goods Transportation and Handling Act. A shipping document with the UN number, UN 2590 for chrysotile asbestos, is required for the haul. Alberta Environment's disposal guidelines note that asbestos waste containing more than 1 per cent asbestos by weight is exempt from the provincial hazardous waste regulation when managed under those guidelines, so no Alberta manifest is needed, but the transport document still is. Never describe asbestos waste as ordinary construction debris when arranging disposal; ask the contractor and the landfill how the load will be classified, especially if test results show a trace or borderline result.

The OHS Code also requires that asbestos waste be stored, transported and disposed of in sealed, impervious, labelled containers. That overlaps with the City's packaging rule but comes from a different authority: the OHS Code binds the contractor doing the abatement work, while the City's packaging and permit requirements govern what Shepard will accept.

One practical note: the City's Asbestos Abatement Information Form must be submitted before a building or demolition permit is released for any building to be renovated or demolished. That form is separate from the Shepard Industrial Waste Permit. A building permit is not a permit to perform abatement work; jurisdiction for the abatement itself sits with the Government of Alberta, not the City.

When you are comparing two written abatement quotes, set the disposal line items side by side: check that each quote names Shepard specifically, states the tonnage estimate, includes the $220-per-tonne rate and the packaging labour, and accounts for the transport document, so you can see exactly what each contractor is and is not covering for disposal.