Homelessness contributes to Clean Up Australia Day haul | photos

Annette Priest, Dubbo RiverCare Group secretary, said volunteers cleaning-up the banks of the Macquarie River on Sunday, March 5, found so many used needles they were unable to dispose of them safely.

"It was extremely disappointing to find so much rubbish along the banks of the river and the river corridor - a lot of it left by people who are unfortunately in a homeless situation. Something has to be done about that situation," she told the Daily Liberal.

"We found hundreds of used syringes, we couldn't pick-up all the syringes as we didn't have enough room in our sharps containers."

Ms Priest said it was the worst she had seen it in over 20 years she had been cleaning-up around the Macquarie River.

"Our worry is these [syringes] are laying on the ground and can end up in someone's foot or in the river and it makes for a very poor display of our community when we see that sort of thing being left behind," she said.

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"There was a whole lot of clothing strewn under the bridge, rubbish bins upturned into the river, shopping trolleys all along the riverbank and in the river. We were lucky to have such an enthusiastic band of helpers there to try to make a difference."

Ms Priest thanked the over-60 people who volunteered for the clean-up, including members of the RiverCare group, OzFish, the Central West Leadership Academy and the general public, which she said was "a great turnout".

She said on the upside, there were less cans and bottles around the river banks due to the number of people collecting them for the Return and Earn initiative.

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Dubbo Councillor Joshua Black, who attended the clean-up, told the Daily Liberal "a whole-of-government approach" was needed to tackle the rubbish under the bridge, which he said was caused by a combination of undiagnosed mental health, addiction and homelessness.

"There had been a whole lot of people camped up there, tent city-type stuff ... we dragged about five or six trolleys and a heap of needles out [from under the bridge] and council will have to get up there and clean it up with a bobcat," Cr Black said.

Of homelessness in Dubbo, Cr Black said: "Council will work with state and federal government but it's a whole-of-government approach to fix it - council doesn't have the resources but we could be part of the solution."

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He said mental health, addiction and "the rehab centre fiasco that has dragged on", as well as the housing and the cost-of-living crises, have all contributed to the rubbish around the river.

"I will be looking at what we can do as a council to engage other agencies and state and federal governments and non-government agencies in that space where we can all work together on some initiatives," Cr Black said.

The Dubbo RiverCare Group cleans-up along the river fortnightly, and welcomes volunteers, who can find out more on Facebook or by calling Annette Priest on 0417 655 395.