- Asbestos removal
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Asbestos in South Africa: 2026 facts and figures
Every figure dated and linked to its source. Checked October 2026.
Asbestos has been banned in South Africa since 28 March 2008, but asbestos roofs, pipes and ceilings put up before then are still everywhere, and nobody has a national count of them. What can be counted is here: the rules, the 670 entries on the asbestos contractor register, the landfills that take the waste, the roofs government has replaced province by province, and what the trusts have paid out.
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The law, in dates
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Asbestos bannedAcquiring, processing, manufacturing, distributing, importing and exporting asbestos was prohibited by GN R341, Government Gazette 30904. Roofs put up before then may stay. GN R341 | 28 March 2008 |
| Asbestos Abatement RegulationsGN R1196, Government Gazette 43893, amended on 20 May 2022 (GN R2092) and 12 July 2024 (GN R5042). The regulations | 10 November 2020 |
| No fittings on asbestosThe 2024 amendment added regulation 24(j): no person may make any installation or fitting on or onto asbestos-containing materials. Regulation 24 | 12 July 2024 |
| No solar or over-roofing on asbestos roofsThe Department of Employment and Labour told its inspectors not to allow panels or sheets to be installed onto existing asbestos roofs. Department letter | 9 November 2022 |
| Landfill rule widenedAsbestos may go to a Class A landfill, or a Class B landfill specifically approved for it (GN 5523, amending GN R636 of 2013). GN 5523 | 7 November 2024 |
Who may do the work, and where the waste goes
| What | Number |
|---|---|
| Registered asbestos contractor entriesOn the Department’s June 2023 – May 2026 register, read 19 September 2026: Western Cape 216, Gauteng 165, KwaZulu-Natal 134, Northern Cape 4. 72 had passed their expiry date by 12 October 2026. The full list | 670 |
| Inspection authorities approved for asbestosOn the Department’s May 2026 list; 33 were in date, able to issue clearance certificates and open to outside clients on 12 October 2026, none of them in the Northern Cape. The list | 54 |
| Provinces with a licensed asbestos landfillGauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. We found none in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Free State, North West or the Northern Cape. Landfills by province | 4 |
How many asbestos roofs has government replaced?
There is no national count of asbestos roofs still standing; provinces are still counting. This is what each province had delivered on its asbestos roof programme, according to the Minister of Human Settlements’ written reply of 23 September 2026.
| Province | Units delivered |
|---|---|
| KwaZulu-NatalDemolished and rebuilt since 2016/17; R404.2 million spent of R467.6 million budgeted. Durban and KwaZulu-Natal | 5,323 |
| LimpopoMixed interventions. | 2,937 |
| Eastern Cape | 801 |
| Mpumalanga | 741 |
| Free StateIncluding 180 in 2025/26 and 63 in the first quarter of 2026/27. The province says about 33,000 asbestos roofs remain, at about R4 billion (budget vote, 23 April 2026). | 514 |
| Western Cape | about 58 |
| North WestR43.8 million budgeted for 2026/27, nothing spent at the time of the reply. | 0 |
| Northern CapeA 2015 assessment counted 31,744 structures with asbestos, about 20,328 of them house roofs, costed at about R1.1 billion. | 0 |
| GautengThe province was still waiting for a guiding framework. | no records |
Sources: Minister of Human Settlements, written reply NW4822, 23 September 2026; North West budget from reply NCOP 701, July 2026; Free State remaining roofs from OFM, 24 April 2026; Northern Cape assessment reported to Parliament on 14 September 2022.
Schools, pipes and towns
Gauteng schools. Of 29 schools built with asbestos identified in 2015, the Gauteng education department said in November 2023 that the remaining 22 would be replaced before the end of March 2026 (The Citizen / GroundUp). In June 2026 the DA said at least two, Randfontein Secondary and Toekomsrus Primary, still had asbestos structures (Inside Education).
Western Cape schools. The province told its legislature in May 2026 that 71 schools are built wholly or partly of inappropriate materials, asbestos among them, and that 54 are to be fully replaced and 17 partly; clearing all 71 is estimated at about R5.6 billion (written reply, 22 May 2026).
Johannesburg water pipes. Johannesburg Water began replacing outage-prone asbestos-cement pipes in 2022 (Engineering News). In July 2026 it asked for quotes to remove asbestos pipe off-cuts from its depots to a licensed landfill, by a Type 2 registered contractor (RFQJW75SC26).
Mossel Bay. In April 2026 the municipality costed replacing the asbestos roofs on about 2,772 units at about R55,000 each, R152 million in all, noted that no Garden Route landfill accepts asbestos, and recommended that council not budget for it (mayoral committee report). More on asbestos removal in George and the Garden Route.
Health and compensation
Asbestos Relief Trust. Set up in 2003 for people with asbestos-related disease from certain mines, it had paid out R493 million by 28 February 2025 and is still taking claims; its latest valuation says it stays solvent until 2028 (chairperson’s report, 2025; claims).
Kgalagadi Relief Trust. It paid R123.3 million to 1,532 claimants, then its trustees dissolved it; its remaining funds moved to The Meso Trust on 28 February 2025, which now pays mesothelioma claims from Northern Cape exposure (KRT annual report).
Who can claim from each trust, and how mineworkers and other workers claim, is set out in asbestos compensation in South Africa.
Mafefe, Limpopo. After a resident whose family says he had been diagnosed with asbestosis died in April 2026, the national and provincial health departments launched community health screening in the village on 17 August 2026 (Department of Health; Medical Brief).
Prieska and Koegas, Northern Cape. Blue asbestos from old mines still lies exposed in the area (Mail & Guardian, August 2025).
Questions people ask
What are the key dates in South Africa’s asbestos law?
The ban took effect on 28 March 2008 (GN R341, Government Gazette 30904), and the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 took effect on 10 November 2020; they were amended in 2022 and 2024. Asbestos roofs installed before the ban may stay. The ban itself is explained on when asbestos was banned in South Africa.
How many registered asbestos contractors are there in South Africa?
670 entries on the Department of Employment and Labour’s June 2023 – May 2026 register, read on 19 September 2026; 72 had passed their expiry date by 12 October 2026.
How many asbestos roofs are left in South Africa?
There is no national count. The Free State says about 33,000 asbestos roofs remain (April 2026), and a 2015 Northern Cape assessment counted 31,744 structures with asbestos; other provinces were still counting in 2026.
Is the Asbestos Relief Trust still paying claims?
Yes. It had paid out R493 million by 28 February 2025 and was still accepting claims in 2026.
Asbestos was banned in South Africa on 28 March 2008, and the work on what remains is governed by the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020, amended in 2022 and 2024. The contractor register (read 19 September 2026) held 670 entries, the May 2026 list named 54 inspection authorities approved for asbestos (33 in date and open to outside clients on 12 October), and we found landfills for asbestos in only four provinces. By September 2026, government asbestos roof programmes had dealt with 5,323 homes in KwaZulu-Natal, 2,937 in Limpopo and 514 in the Free State, and none in North West or the Northern Cape; the Free State alone says about 33,000 asbestos roofs remain.
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