The council agreed last summer to introduce a recycling collection service for paper, cardboard, plastic, metals, and cartons.
Wigtownshire was operational before Christmas 2020 and collections have been operating in Stewartry since this April, Nithsdale since the beginning of May, and Annandale and Eskdale since the end of May.
James McLeod, the council’s infrastructure manager, produced a report for the last communities committee to update councillors on the progress made.
He wrote: “The response from householders continues to be good and issues with contamination continue to be relatively minor in comparison with numbers of uplifts.
“In the first month of the rollout in Nithsdale 94 tonnes of paper, card and cardboard and more than 42 tonnes of plastics, metals and cartons were collected.
“The first two months of the Stewartry area service saw over 143 tonnes of paper, card and cardboard and more than 62 tonnes of plastic, metals, and cartons collected.
“Working with Zero Waste Scotland and our communications colleagues, maintaining and improving these recycling rates will be a focus for the waste service over the next 12 months.”
The council’s waste department admitted that there are still some “mopping-up” operations being undertaken, which includes the replacement of standard 240 litre bins with 140 litre bins where requested.
There is still some work to be done on the installation of communal facilities at some locations where individual bins are not appropriate.
Annandale North Councillor Gail Macgregor said: “One issue that keeps on popping up is: why don’t we have glass recycling?”
Mr McLeod replied: “We are very much taking national advice from Zero Waste Scotland on glass collection. Glass collection kerbside is very much not to be progressed.”
He added that glass kerbside recycling would require a third waste vehicle, and explained that it is difficult to compact glass on the vehicle.
Meanwhile, since the first flyers were issued for the new kerbside collection service in the Stewartry, there has been over 6000 queries.
And, between April 1 and June 17 this year, the waste recycling page on the council’s website received almost 50,000 hits.
