BLUE bin collections will finally restart after being off for months.

The council has been under pressure to reinstate the service, with a huge amount of recyclable rubbish dumped in landfill since it was suspended.

Collections stopped at the end of March due to staff shortages while other local authorities maintained their services.

Uplifts will restart from Monday June 15.

The announcement comes after the council struck a deal with its existing contractor to allow a company to temporarily take over the reins for three months.

Municipal Buildings bosses say they do not have the means to store and process dry recyclables so this aspect of the service is outsourced.

Although local authority staffing levels have returned to a level that will allow household uplifts to resume, their usual contractor is still experiencing problems - meaning the waste cannot be collected and sorted.

Meanwhile officials say one vehicle every minute visited Inverclyde’s main recycling centre after it reopened on Monday for the first time in nearly 10 weeks.

Almost 700 cars and vans passed through the gates of the Pottery Street depot in Greenock, with residents dumping close to 30 tonnes of waste after two-hour-long queues built up.

The depot was back up and running for the first time in 10 weeks following the initial easing of government lockdown restrictions.

A total of 685 vehicles visited the recycling centre and more than 28 tonnes of household waste, garden waste, wood and cardboard was dumped on day one.

Residents were eager to discard of rubbish following clear-outs of cupboards, lofts, sheds and the tidying up of outdoor spaces.

There was everything from unwanted wooden furniture and hedge trimmings to a bust of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Councillor Michael McCormick said: “As expected, it was extremely busy at Pottery Street to begin with on Monday but people were incredibly patient and understanding as they waited to get in and I’d like to thank them for that.

“Huge credit to the council staff involved.

"It’s a big job reopening Inverclyde’s largest recycling centre after being closed for more than two months and a lot of hard work has gone in to ensure everyone’s safety.

“Those on the frontline at Pottery Street in particular did a terrific job directing traffic and helping people at a distance on what was one of the hottest days of the year.”

The depot was due to open at 8am but staff unlocked the gates 15 minutes early to ease the build-up of traffic on the main road and the site closed at 7pm.

Motorists were kept informed throughout the day with ‘real time’ queue updates displayed on electronic boards dotted along the A8 in both directions on approach to Pottery Street.

The recycling centre reopens today after a closure yesterday to give staff a break.

It will also be open throughout the weekend from 8am-7pm.

Meanwhile the Kirn Drive recycling centre in Gourock is due to reopen on June 15.