It began with Cr Jason Hamling offering praise to residents who clean up litter around town, and ended with plans to investigate a blitz on drivers on Northern Distributor Road who toss rubbish out of the cars they are travelling in.
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Councillor Tony Mileto raised the issue during Orange City Council's first meeting for 2021, held on Tuesday night at chambers.
While acknowledging those who volunteer their time to collect rubbish, Cr Mileto said "we should also acknowledge the imbeciles who throw rubbish out their window on the Northern Distributor".
"I was driving out there yesterday and was astounded at the rubbish - Coke cans, people just throwing it out the window of their cars ... I can't imagine where else it would come from," Cr Mileto said.
"Particularly on northern side - there was that much rubbish I couldn't believe it."
He described the eyesore as a "sad indictment".
Orange City Council CEO David Waddell told the meeting that "to add insult to injury it cost us $11,000 last financial year to pick that rubbish up once".
Mr Waddell said council had gained a grant from the Environmental Protection Authority to undertake another tidying of the distributor.
Mayor Reg Kidd floated the idea of a blitz on drivers tossing out rubbish and wondered whether cameras could be set up to nab the offenders.
"People coming into Orange [seeing the rubbish] would wonder what the hell they've hit," he said.
He said his wife would regularly fill a bin with rubbish near his property with "nappies, mainly stuff from takeaways", but that she had "given up".
Councillor Stephen Nugent said "it shocks me when I ride my bike along the Northern Distributor ... you don't tend to notice it so much when you're driving in a car, but [you do] at a slower speed".
Councillor Joanne McRae said she had heard of a program that saw fast food restaurants and law enforcement working together to track people who littered via food dockets and CCTV.
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