Residents have been warned to take their waste home when using the Return and Earn reverse vending machines after piles of rubbish have been dumped at both sites.
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Carboard cartons and household rubbish have been left at the north Orange and Edward Street centres.
A spokesman for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said people faced fines of $250 for illegal dumping.
"Return and Earn encourages anyone using a return point to recycle responsibly," he said.
"Return and Earn participants are advised to take all their rubbish with them including any cardboard boxes and ineligible containers, and to recycle them via their home kerbside collection service."
He said people should bring bottles and cans to the machines in a reusable tub.
"Check container eligibility on the Return and Earn website before visiting to minimise any rubbish," he said.
"Littering is an offence. Anyone caught littering in NSW, including at reverse vending machine locations can be fined $250."
He said waste bins were provided at most Return and Earn sites.
The spokesman said they were cleaned "a minimum" of twice a day.
"The Orange community is an enthusiastic contributor to the Return and Earn scheme, returning more than 24.8 million containers for recycling via the two local reverse vending machines since the start of the scheme," he said.
"Since Return and Earn launched over two years ago, more than 3.6 billion containers have been returned across the state and over $1 million raised for charities and community groups."
North Orange Shopping Centre manager Ashleigh King also urged people not to dump rubbish at the Return and Earn machine located in the shopping centre's car park.
"We have been working with Tomra [the company which provide the reverse vending machines] to deal with any cleaning issues and have increased the cleaning of the machines accordingly," she said.
"However we also urge the community to use these machines in a responsible way.
"This includes not littering and taking any items such as containers and cardboard with them to recycle at their bins at home."
The reverse vending machines have seen a lot of use since the coronavirus lockdowns were introduced.
People visiting a Return and Earn centre have also been warned to maintain social distancing of at least 1.5 metres from others.
They should also practise good hygiene including using hand sanitiser or wet wipes to clean hands before and after recycling.
People who felt unwell have also been told to stay at home.
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David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
