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Asbestos Waste in Billings: How Disposal at the Landfill Works

By Billings Asbestos Testing ·

Most conversations about asbestos start at the ceiling, the floor, or the attic. The part people think about last is where the material ends up. In Billings that question has a specific answer, with its own appointment system, packaging rules, and paperwork, and knowing it before a remodel starts can save you from a load that gets turned away at the scale house.

This guide covers how the Billings Regional Landfill handles asbestos and vermiculite, how city code and Montana DEQ fit together, and what it means for a homeowner planning work on an older house in the Heights, on the South Side, or out toward Laurel. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the details for your project with the City of Billings and the DEQ Asbestos Control Program.

Asbestos does not go in the regular load

The Billings Regional Landfill lists asbestos and vermiculite as special handling items, separate from ordinary construction debris. The landfill's pre-acceptance agreement puts asbestos waste on its list of materials that are not accepted without prior approval, and says approved asbestos is restricted to a designated area of the site.

The same agreement says the landfill practices random waste screening and reserves the right to inspect any load. A hauler found disposing of prohibited or unacceptable material is reported to the Montana Solid Waste Program and is liable for the cost of cleanup, transport, and disposal elsewhere. Tossing a few bags of old ceiling texture into a roll-off with drywall and lumber is the kind of load those rules cover.

City code backs this up. Section 21-220 of the Billings Code of Ordinances says disposal of asbestos-containing material over 1 percent, friable and non-friable alike, is regulated by the Montana DEQ Asbestos Control Program, the EPA, OSHA, and the landfill's own requirements.

How the Billings landfill accepts asbestos

The City's Public Works page lays out the process for asbestos and vermiculite drop-off:

  • Appointment only. Asbestos and vermiculite waste is accepted Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., excluding holidays.
  • Request online first. You submit an Asbestos Drop-Off Request through the City's online form, and staff follow up by email or phone to confirm a time. The form asks for 24 hours of advance notice, your preferred days, and the approximate amount of material.
  • Bring the form. A completed Asbestos Disposal form must be presented to landfill scale house staff at disposal.
  • Package it correctly. Bags must be 6-mil plastic and sealed with duct tape.
  • Watch the weather. The landfill does not accept asbestos during inclement weather, so plan for the appointment to move.

The page also directs questions to the City's Environmental Affairs team and points to the DEQ Asbestos Control Program for the state rules.

Vermiculite is treated as asbestos

Vermiculite attic insulation is familiar in Montana because a mine near Libby supplied over 70 percent of the vermiculite sold in the United States from 1919 to 1990, according to the EPA. The landfill groups vermiculite with asbestos for disposal, and its page explains why: the EPA recommends that all vermiculite insulation be considered friable asbestos-containing material, and the City notes that testing methods for vermiculite too often produce false negatives.

If your attic has loose, pebbly, silver-gold or gray-brown fill, plan any removal as asbestos work, including disposal. Our vermiculite insulation page covers how to approach it without disturbing it first.

Where the state rules come in

Disposal is the last step in a chain that starts with an inspection, and the inspection rules depend on the building.

Commercial and larger residential buildings. Montana DEQ says all facilities must be inspected by a Montana-accredited asbestos inspector before renovation or demolition, regardless of the age of construction, and the inspection report must be on site during the work. If asbestos-containing material is found in quantities greater than 10 square feet, 3 linear feet, or 3 cubic feet, the work becomes an asbestos project that needs a DEQ permit and a Montana-accredited asbestos contractor. The City's demolition packet adds that DEQ must receive notification forms two weeks before nonresidential demolition or renovation begins.

Homes with four or fewer units. Montana DEQ's residential exemption guidance follows the federal definition of a facility, which excludes residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units. The exemption only applies if the house is the only structure affected within 660 feet under the same owner, is not planned for an institutional, commercial, public, or industrial project, and has not been used for a nonresidential purpose the state rules cover. A typical owner-occupied house in the Heights may fit, and DEQ can help if you are unsure. A former storefront converted to apartments, or one of several houses being cleared for a new project, may not.

The exemption covers state inspection, notification, and permit requirements. It does not change what the landfill accepts or how it wants the waste packaged. A positive ceiling from a single-family house still needs an appointment, the disposal form, and sealed 6-mil bags.

What an inspection report changes

Under Montana's inspection rule, ARM 17.74.354, a material counts as asbestos-containing when at least one sample shows more than 1 percent asbestos. The same rule treats everything except glass, untreated wood, and metal as suspect asbestos-containing material.

A lab result does three useful things before demolition day:

  1. It tells you which debris is likely ordinary. Materials that test negative may be able to go out with regular construction waste, subject to the landfill's rules, so you are not paying to handle a whole room as asbestos when only one layer is positive.
  2. It sizes the job. Knowing that the ceiling is positive but the floor tile is not, or that the black mastic is positive but the tile on top is not, lets a contractor plan containment, bagging, and the landfill appointment for the right quantity.
  3. It gives you a paper trail. The landfill wants a completed disposal form, and contractors and buyers may both ask what was found. A written report answers that once.

Our pre-renovation and demolition surveys page explains what a full inspection covers.

A sensible order for a Billings remodel

  1. Figure out whether your building is a home with four or fewer units, or something DEQ treats as a facility.
  2. Have the materials you plan to disturb sampled by a Montana-accredited inspector and analyzed by an accredited lab. Vermiculite is the exception: the EPA advises treating it as asbestos without testing.
  3. Leave positive materials alone until you have a plan. Intact material is generally less of a concern than material that is scraped, sanded, or broken.
  4. If removal is the plan, ask your contractor how they handle packaging, the disposal form, and the landfill appointment, and get that in writing.
  5. Separate negative debris from asbestos waste so each goes where it belongs.

FAQ

Can I put old popcorn ceiling scrapings in my curbside cart? Not if the texture contains asbestos. The Billings Regional Landfill accepts asbestos only by appointment, in sealed 6-mil bags, with a completed disposal form. If you have not tested the texture yet, test before you scrape. Our popcorn ceiling testing page explains how sampling works.

Does the residential exemption mean I can skip the landfill rules? No. The exemption relates to state inspection, notification, and permit requirements for homes with four or fewer units. The landfill's appointment, packaging, and paperwork requirements apply to asbestos waste no matter what kind of building it came from.

What if the material tests negative? Under Montana's inspection rule, a material is considered not to be asbestos-containing only when every sample shows 1 percent or less. DEQ's program page adds that waste with any asbestos above zero, even at 1 percent or less, requires telling the disposal facility, so ask the landfill how it wants that debris handled.

Get a quote

If you are planning a remodel or cleanout in Billings, Laurel, or the Yellowstone Valley and want to know what is asbestos and what is not before the dumpster arrives, request a free quote. Tell us the age of the building, the materials involved, and what you plan to remove.

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