A GLENROI resident says goods deposited roadside in the lead-up to Orange City Council’s bulky waste clean-up are being used as ammunition or fire starters by groups of young vandals who wander the streets looking for trouble.
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Christine Francisco, who lives in Goorawin Road, said many Glenroi residents placed their rubbish on the side of the road several weeks ago, giving young vandals ample time to throw, burn or use the discarded waste as weapons.
The rubbish is also being thrown at passing cars.
“You can’t drive down the road without having to dodge rubbish,” Mrs Francisco said.
“They’ve used stuff they’ve collected as weapons to attack dogs, they’ve even come to my gate to smack the dogs with sticks they’ve found.”
Mrs Francisco said she had a mattress thrown onto her front lawn, while a neighbour found a fire burning in his yard.
“My neighbour had chest pains because of the stress,” she said.
Mrs Francisco said she contacted Orange City Council about the problem but was told JR Richards had been hired to remove the items at a predetermined time.
“This is beyond a joke, our street looks like a garbage tip,” she said.
“I can’t believe that people who have no money have so much junk [to throw out].”
Mrs Francisco said most of the problems occur between 4pm and 9.30pm and involve children as young as eight years old.
“The parents are watching the kids, but they’re doing nothing about it,” she said
The council’s environment and economic development committee chair, Neil Jones, said the bulky waste clean-up was a valuable opportunity for residents to clear away the larger-scale items that could build up.
“It does take some community responsibility for this service to work safely for all concerned,” Cr Jones said. “There’s now a tradition of collectors driving around in Orange looking for treasures and items that can be recycled, and mostly, they sort through the piles without making a potential mess.
“That’s a very different story from vandals breaking glass or throwing objects.”
Cr Jones said it was a pity residents had to think twice about whether something they put out could cause a problem, but perhaps they needed to do it.
The bulky items are collected by two separate trucks, sometimes a few days apart.
Cr Jones said once the bulky waste collection ended, residents could call the council’s customer service line on 6393 8000 if there was still a mess in the street to arrange a council clean-up.
The clean-up will finish within the next couple of weeks.
