The fire was finally extinguished on Thursday, three days after it set alight on Monday night.

The major blaze which broke out at the ACT government's Materials Recovery Facility completely destroyed the facility and damaged heavy machinery.

The facility has been described as a write-off by City Services Minister Chris Steel.

ACT recycling bins are being transported and stored at the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre in Symonston, commonly known among Canberrans as the tip with the Green Shed.

The yellow-top bins contain co-mingled recyclables such as glass, paper products, recycled plastics, aluminium and steel cans.

They will be stored in Symonston for an indeterminate amount of time.

As of Thursday 2pm, ACT Emergency Services had finished dousing around 150 tonnes of recycling material from across Canberra and the region within the destroyed plant.

The burnt residue will go into landfill.

"The fire is fully extinguished and the facility has been handed back to ACT No Waste," an ESA spokesperson said.

"All ESA equipment and personnel have withdrawn from the site except for their fire investigators.

"The investigators are now working with the [Australian Federal Police] on determining the cause. That's an ongoing investigation."

The Canberra Times understands the AFP are involved because the building is a significant ACT government asset, not because there is a suggestion of criminal involvement.

A federal environment department spokesperson said the fire was "unfortunate".

The Liberal government had already announced an estimated $10.5 million commitment to help the ACT build a new recycling processing plant in Hume.

The ACT government was to contribute the same amount.

According to a schedule of payments document, both the federal and ACT government should have contributed $8.5 million each to a new facility by the end of the 2021-22 financial year.

The plant was planned to open in late 2024 Mr Steel has flagged the project would be fast-tracked.

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Canberra residents are being told to continue putting out their recycling bins.

It is still unclear if the material can be processed at another plant.

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