Cause of Hume recycling facility fire 'may not be established' by ongoing investigation: ACT government

The major fire broke out on the evening of Boxing Day, at the ACT government's Materials Recovery Facility, completely destroying the warehouse and damaging heavy machinery.

It has left the territory without a sorting facility for its recycling, with collections being "stockpiled" at Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre.

It took firefighters three days to extinguish the blaze at the 100 metre by 30-metre facility in Hume.

Fuelled by highly condensed recyclables, at its peak, 18 fire trucks were required at the scene, supported by paramedics and police.

ACT Fire and Rescue are leading the investigation into the cause of the fire, with no suspicious circumstances being considered by police.

"Transport Canberra and City Services is not in a position to comment on the cause of the fire as this is a matter for relevant regulatory authorities," an ACT government spokesperson said.

"It is possible that a definitive cause of the fire may not be established by those authorities."

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Collections of recyclables have continued as normal, though until the government reaches an agreement with the contractor who ran the facility, the ACT's plastic, glass and cardboard will continue to pile up at the tip.

By close of business on Monday, 860 tonnes of recycling had been taken to Mugga Lane, delivered by a total of 246 trucks.

"The ACT government is continuing to work with the recycling contractor Re.Group on the alternative arrangements to manage residential recycling," the government spokesperson said.

"In the short-medium term, this will involve transporting recyclables to alternative locations for processing."

It is likely this will mean transporting the ACT's recyclables to a facility in another metropolitan area, such as Sydney.

"The destruction of this facility is a significant setback for recycling in the ACT but also for six councils in NSW which send their material here to be processed," ACT City Services Minister Chris Steel said last Tuesday.

Mr Steel said the government would look at whether it could expedite plans to build a more modern $23 million facility next door, which was not expected to be operational until 2024.

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