The latest data shows that Wagga City Council saw nearly 13 million containers recycled in the six months to June 2021.

This included more than six million aluminum cans and about three million glass bottles.

Jon D'Astoli, the manager of Vinnies' Return and Earn NSW, said last week was a "bumper week" for Wagga with more than 60,000 containers donated through the site.

He said the site has been open for three years and does extremely well, but that numbers rapidly increased after lockdown forced limited hours.

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"Things have picked up again but particularly last week," Mr D'Astoli said.

"We were taking more than 60,000 containers each day and people were catching up and clearing their sheds and bins at home after lockdown.

"Paul and the guys in the depot are terrific and I think their customer service is one of the reasons its so popular.

Mr D'Astoli said annually the site would process an average of 15 to 16 millions bottles and cans in Wagga.

The number of items returned in Wagga indicated that consumers and charities could have netted more than $1.2 million in rebates although not every item listed in the report would have been eligible for the 10-cent deposit.

Mr D'Astoli said it was incredible to see that Wagga took sustainability and recycling seriously. He said the business model of having the Return and Earn for Vinnies was great.

"For the customer, it's fast processing and refund," he said.

"For Vinnies, we get a handling fee on top of the customers 10 cent and that supports all of Vinnies good works. Thirdly it's good for the environment."

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