Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre to reopen on December 18 after building damaged by fire

Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre has been closed for more than two weeks after a fire in the Oji Fibre Solutions building. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre is set to reopen after a fire forced it to close for more than two weeks.

The Maria Pl recycling centre has been closed since a fire at the Oji Fibre Solutions building on Friday, December 1.

Initially, the centre’s deposit slots for newspaper, mixed paper and cardboard were closed off, but the entire centre was later closed to all drop-offs.

The centre has been closed since then while repairs were made to the Oji building and balers damaged in the fire.

In a social media post, the Whanganui District Council said the recycling centre would reopen to all drop-offs on Monday, December 18.

The council thanked the public for their patience while repairs were made.

Initially, it was hoped the centre would reopen by December 11 but it was postponed for a week because of the fire damage.

Oji Fibre Solutions processes all fibre products (paper and cardboard) collected by the centre and is also contracted to bale all of its plastic products.

The fire caused considerable damage to the wiring of the building and two balers.

A Fire and Emergency NZ investigation found the fire was likely caused by a crushed lithium battery.