Yes, you can still recycle paper and cardboard at Whanganui's Resource Recovery Centre

The Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre is accruing $15,000 a month to get paper and cardboard recycled. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council says people can still recycling paper, cardboard and plastics 1, 2 and 5 while it investigates long-term options for dealing with paper and cardboard.

Earlier this month the council announced it would soon stop accepting paper and cardboard as it was costing the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre $15,000 a month to get the material recycled.

The council's waste advisor, Stuart Hylton, said the centre would continue to collect paper and cardboard until December 31.

In the lead up to that date council and the centre would work on a longer-term solution.

"With the current market ratepayers would have to continue to pay $180,000 per year to subsidise paper and cardboard and we think we can find a better solution," Hylton said.

"We're committed to environmental sustainability and are determined to find a better deal for our community in terms of cost."

He said they would be trying to find new or alternative markets for paper and cardboard.

Councillor Rob Vinsen, chairman of the Council's Waste Minimisation Advisory Group, said he is "very hopeful" a solution will be found.

People can still take down their paper, cardboard and plastics 1,2,5 for the meantime. Photo / Bevan Conley

He said council has also asked the centre to stop collecting plastics 3, 4 ,6 and 7 from the end of this year.

"Plastics 3, 4, 6 and 7 are rarely collected anywhere in New Zealand now. They're just 6-7 per cent of total plastic collected so this will have little impact in terms of sustainability."

Vinsen said there are very good markets for 93 per cent of plastics collected at the centre.

"Whanganui's Resource Recovery Centre is known as a source of good quality recycling product, because we've got a great system with people bringing clean recycling in and separating it by posting it into the bins."