- Asbestos removal
- Cape Town
Asbestos removal in Cape Town
Asbestos roof removal in Cape Town is priced at our Gauteng rate of R150 to R250 per m², and transport to the nearest licensed landfill is quoted after the site visit. In Cape Town that landfill is close by: Vissershok, off the N7.
Asbestos removal in Cape Town follows the national rules. Removing 10 m² or more of asbestos cement needs a contractor registered with the Department of Employment and Labour, and the Western Cape has more of them than any other province: 216 entries on the register. We take on asbestos roof, ceiling, pipe and cladding jobs across Cape Town.
Asbestos roof in Cape Town? Send the address on WhatsApp, or outline the roof in the quote tool. Transport to Vissershok is quoted after the site visit.
Where does asbestos from Cape Town go?
Cape Town is one of the few places in the country with licensed asbestos disposal on the doorstep. Two sites share the name Vissershok, north of the city off the N7:
- EnviroServ’s Vissershok facility, a Class A hazardous-waste landfill. EnviroServ completed its acquisition of the facility in 2023 (EnviroServ, December 2023), and in July 2025 it handled the disposal from the asbestos roof removed at NSRI Hout Bay (EnviroServ).
- The City of Cape Town’s Vissershok landfill, which takes general and low-to-medium hazardous waste (City of Cape Town). The City’s 2016 asbestos leaflet says it buries asbestos-containing waste there in trenches (leaflet), and business clients need a special waste permit (hazardous waste page).
Either way, we book the load and you get a document from the disposal site for all the waste, as regulation 21 of the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 requires. The rest of the country’s sites are on where to dispose of asbestos in South Africa.
What does the City of Cape Town say about asbestos?
The City’s 2020 disposal guide says asbestos products must not be broken, must be kept separate from other waste, and that demolition and building work needs a registered asbestos contractor (City hazardous waste page). Asbestos cement is not accepted with free builders’ rubble. Our advice is simpler: leave broken asbestos alone, keep people away from it, and let the registered team handle it.
The rules on the work itself are national: removing 10 m² or more of asbestos cement is Type 2 work for a contractor registered with the Department of Employment and Labour, with seven days’ written notice, a plan of work, an approved inspection authority and a clearance certificate. See how asbestos roof removal works.
What are the Vissershok landfill rates?
The City of Cape Town charges R1,004.96 a ton (R1,155.70 with VAT) for special waste at Vissershok in the 2026/27 financial year, and R758.35 a ton (R872.10 with VAT) for general waste (City budget, Annexure 4, 2026/27). Asbestos cement cannot go in at the builders’ rubble rate: the City’s tariff notice excludes asbestos cement waste from clean builders’ rubble, though neither document lists asbestos by name under a tariff (tariff notice).
| Waste type | Per ton, excl. VAT | Per ton, incl. VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Special wasteCharged per ton or part thereof; needs a special waste permit | R1,004.96 | R1,155.70 |
| General waste | R758.35 | R872.10 |
| Builders’ rubbleNot for asbestos cement | R31.30 | R36.00 |
Before a business load of special waste is accepted, the City wants a Vissershok (VH) application, a waste sample handed in at the Athlone Wastewater Treatment Plant for testing by its Scientific Services Branch, and a Waste Information Regulations number from the Western Cape Government; permits expire on 30 June each year. Vissershok takes special and hazardous waste Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 14:00 (special waste permit). Special waste from outside the City’s boundary pays more: R1,108.43 a ton (R1,274.70 with VAT; tariff notice), which matters for West Coast and Garden Route jobs. EnviroServ’s Class A facility next door is privately run, so the City tariff does not apply there.
The registered contractor arranges the load and the paperwork; you never take asbestos to Vissershok yourself. On our quotes, transport to Vissershok is its own line, set after the site visit, as described under Cape Town prices.
Cape Town and the Western Cape, by the numbers
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Registered asbestos contractor entries with a Western Cape addressThe most of any province, on the Department’s register read 19 September 2026. The full register | 216 |
| Inspection authorities approved for asbestos, Western Cape head officeDepartment’s May 2026 list; 4 were in date and able to issue clearance certificates on 12 October 2026. The list | 8 |
| SANAS-accredited lab for asbestos identification in Cape TownOccupational Hygiene Monitoring Services, Melkbosstrand, accredited in July 2026 for identifying asbestos in bulk samples. Testing and inspection | 1 |
| Western Cape schools built partly or wholly of inappropriate materialsAsbestos among them; 54 to be fully replaced and 17 partly, about R5.6 billion for all 71 (written reply, 22 May 2026). | 71 |
The City is also replacing asbestos roofs on its own housing: at four former hostels in Gugulethu (GroundUp, July 2026) and on 43 units at the Lwandle hostel in the Strand (City Vision, April 2026).
Asbestos removal Cape Town prices
Our published band of R150 to R250 per m² to strip and dispose is Gauteng pricing; we don’t publish a separate Cape Town figure. A Cape Town roof is priced on the same per-m² basis, with transport to Vissershok quoted after the site visit as its own line. The new roof is priced separately.
On that basis a 150 m² house roof is R22,500 to R37,500 to strip and dispose of, and a 500 m² warehouse is R75,000 to R125,000, each before the Vissershok transport line. With a new steel roof, a 150 m² house comes to about R97,500 to R142,500 at Gauteng rates; see asbestos roof replacement cost.
The quote tool works on any Cape Town address: type it in and outline the roof. The figure on screen is the Gauteng band, and transport to Vissershok is added after the site visit. See asbestos roof removal cost for what a compliant quote must include.
What about the Garden Route and the West Coast?
No landfill in the Garden Route accepts asbestos; Mossel Bay municipality said in April 2026 that the nearest sites are in Cape Town and Gqeberha (mayoral committee report). A regional landfill is being built near Mossel Bay, with Class B cells the district says can also take asbestos, but it was not operating in September 2026 (Garden Route DM; George Herald). More on asbestos removal in George and the Garden Route. Further up the West Coast and into the Northern Cape, Vissershok can be hundreds of kilometres away, which is what the transport line on the quote reflects.
Questions people ask
How much does asbestos removal cost in Cape Town?
We price Cape Town roofs on our published band of R150 to R250 per m² to strip and dispose (Gauteng pricing, September 2026), with transport to Vissershok quoted after the site visit as its own line. A 150 m² house roof is R22,500 to R37,500 before transport; the new roof is priced separately.
Where can I dispose of asbestos in Cape Town?
At Vissershok, north of the city: EnviroServ’s Class A hazardous-waste facility, or the City of Cape Town’s landfill next door, where the City’s 2016 leaflet says it buries asbestos in trenches. Removing 10 m² or more of asbestos cement is work for a registered contractor, who takes the waste there and gets the disposal document.
How many registered asbestos contractors are there in the Western Cape?
216 entries on the Department of Employment and Labour’s register have a Western Cape address, the most of any province (read 19 September 2026).
Do you remove asbestos roofs in Cape Town?
Yes. Send the address on WhatsApp or use the quote tool. Transport to Vissershok is quoted after the site visit.
Asbestos from Cape Town goes to Vissershok: EnviroServ’s Class A hazardous-waste facility or the City of Cape Town’s landfill next to it, where the City’s 2016 leaflet says it buries asbestos in trenches. The work needs a registered asbestos contractor; the Western Cape has 216 register entries, the most of any province. Our R150 to R250 per m² band is Gauteng pricing, so a Cape Town roof is priced the same way with transport to Vissershok quoted after the site visit. The Garden Route has no asbestos landfill of its own.
Get a compliant quote
Send the address on WhatsApp, or see your roof from above and get a quote on screen. The final price is confirmed on a site visit.