Te Anau's Transfer Station is set to reopen tomorrow (17 Dec) after being closed a week ago by a Worksafe inspector after multiple risks were discovered.

A Southland District Council (SDC) spokesman confirmed this afternoon (16 Dec) the health and safety issues had now been addressed.

The SDC owned and WasteCo operated station was the scene of a fatal accident on 2nd May 2025.

The facility has been closed twice by WorkSafe in the past 7-months.

A WorkSafe spokesperson said an inspector visiting the station on 8th December, as part of their ongoing investigation, observed a range of health and safety risks including safe access, management of hazardous substances and falls from height risks.

"We understand that Southland District Council has temporarily closed the transfer station while improvements are made", they said

Southland District mayor Rob Scott acknowledged in a social media post earlier today that the latest closure was incredibly frustrating for residents of the Southland tourist town, especially giving how fast the grass is growing at the moment and given it was the lead-up to Christmas.

Scott said the council was acutely aware that a solution needed to be found to dispose of green waste and were working on a Plan B or C.

Weekly kerbside red and yellow bin pickups remained unaffected by the transfer station's closure.