Asbestos waste management is today one of the main environmental and public health challenges in Catalonia. The widespread industrial use of this material over decades has left a complex legacy that demands safe, efficient solutions aligned with sustainability and emissions reduction objectives.
Ensuring the correct disposal of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) is key to protecting people's health and the environment, and to moving towards more responsible waste management models.
Why asbestos waste management is a key challenge today
Asbestos is a highly hazardous material once its fibres are released into the air. Exposure can cause serious respiratory diseases, which makes handling and disposing of it a process that requires strict protocols and specialist personnel.
Beyond the public health risks, asbestos waste management has a significant environmental impact. Inadequate or inefficient methods can generate unnecessary CO₂ emissions and perpetuate unsustainable waste treatment models. It is therefore essential to move towards safer, more controlled and more innovative management systems.
The regulatory framework for asbestos waste management in Catalonia
In Catalonia, the management of this waste is shaped by the National Plan for the Eradication of Asbestos in Catalonia 2022–2032, which sets out the strategic lines for identifying, removing and correctly managing the asbestos-containing materials present across the territory.
In this context, the Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya (Catalonia's cartographic and geological institute) has developed a new map of the fibre cement roof census, a key tool for sizing the real scale of the problem and planning the action needed in the coming years.
Volume and real scale of asbestos waste in Catalonia
The available data reveals the scale of the challenge. To date, 122,460 fibre cement roofs have been identified in Catalonia, most of them containing asbestos. These roofs account for a surface area of almost 40 km² and an estimated volume of some 700,000 tonnes of waste.
These figures demonstrate the need for a robust asbestos waste management strategy, able to address both the safe removal of the material and its subsequent treatment, avoiding risks and minimising environmental impact.
Traditional methods and innovative technologies for asbestos waste management
Traditional management through controlled landfill
Until now, most asbestos-containing waste has been managed by disposal in controlled landfill sites. Although this is a safe method in terms of containing the material, it has significant limitations, particularly regarding sustainability and the emissions associated with transport and the lack of material reuse.
New technologies for treating asbestos-containing waste
In parallel, more advanced approaches to the treatment of asbestos-containing waste are being developed, such as thermal, chemical, biotechnological and mechanochemical techniques. Some of these technologies allow asbestos to be degraded, reducing its hazardousness and opening the door to new uses for the resulting materials.
Thermal techniques in particular offer considerable potential for reducing the environmental impact of the process and moving towards more circular models of asbestos waste management.
Material reuse and reduction of CO₂ emissions
One of the main advantages of these innovative technologies is the possibility of reusing the materials resulting from asbestos treatment, for example in the production of cement. This approach helps reduce the need for new raw materials and lowers the CO₂ emissions associated with traditional industrial processes.
Correct management of asbestos-containing waste therefore not only minimises risks, but can become a real opportunity to move towards a more efficient and sustainable economy.
auma's role in the safe and sustainable management of asbestos waste
auma is working on a comprehensive review of best practice, innovative technologies and safe asbestos waste management strategies, with a clear focus on sustainable development and the reduction of CO₂ emissions.
This work is carried out without losing sight of the public health risks associated with exposure to asbestos fibres, or of the need to guarantee the protection of the workers involved in removing and treating the material.
From fibre cement removal to an opportunity for the energy transition
In the current context of climate emergency, removing fibre cement opens up a new opportunity. Roofs freed of asbestos can become key spaces for local renewable energy generation, both thermal and electrical.
In this way, an environmental and health challenge such as asbestos waste management can be turned into a driver of the energy transition, contributing to a model that is safer, more sustainable and aligned with future climate objectives.