Lismore City Council has begun a staged reopening of the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre with limited services available from tomorrow.

However, residents have been advised to hold off dumping rubbish, if they can, to avoid expected queues.

The facility has been closed since a fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday, 11 August, damaging the Materials Recovery Facility and compost piles.

General waste and green waste disposal will resume tomorrow with the Resource Recovery Facility back in operation.

The Lismore Revolve Shop and the Container Deposit Scheme bulk collection centre remain closed at this stage.

The council plans to reopen the Lismore Revolve Shop on Tuesday, 3 September, and the community will be advised when a date for reopening of the Container Deposit Scheme bulk collection centre is scheduled.

The council’s acting executive director of infrastructure services, Peter Jeuken, warned there could be delays and encouraged people to be patient or wait until next week when the initial rush has subsided.

“We are expecting a very busy few days and possibly long wait times, so unless it’s urgent we would urge residents to wait a few days or even until next week,” Mr Jeuken said.

“If people do come to the facility please be conscious that there could be queues and longer than usual wait times, and please be patient and respectful with staff who have had a very busy and difficult few weeks.

"We would like to thank the community for their patience and messages of support during this time, and assure them we are working as fast as we can to return services to normal.”

The Brewster Street Drop-off Centre and the Nimbin Transfer Station both remain open.

For all enquiries, phone the council on 1300 87 83 87.