BRAIDWOOD Road resident Randolph Griffiths is furious about the amount of rubbish he sees dumped along the side of the thoroughfare on a regular basis.
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Mr Griffiths has been living on 1,300 acre property ‘Kelburn’, a mixed sheep and cropping property some 12 kms south of Goulburn, for seven years.
He regularly patrols the road near his property, as well as sections between Brisbane Grove Rd, Wakefield Park and the Tirrannaville area, often filling whole wool sacks full of rubbish.
On Monday morning alone, Mr Griffiths uncovered a milk crate as well as items such as cans, beer bottles, plastic packaging and even the ripped open remains of a lounge cushion all in the space of five minutes.
“Its extraordinary the amount of rubbish I’ve managed to clean up all along Braidwood Rd,” he told the Post.
Mr Griffiths’ main concern is that he feels that Council does nothing about it.
“When I contacted staff at Council they told me that they do not clean rural roads,” he said.
“Everyone is trying to promote our district as a country tourism hotspot and is encouraging people to stay in places such as farmstays and Bed and Breakfasts, so its a pretty bad reflection on the area as a whole. I feel that Council should be taking more of a proactive stance on this, instead of just saying a flat ‘no’. ”
He thought that if Council could clean footpaths and streets in the urban area of Goulburn, then they could also focus on rural roads. “Even if they did a regular clean up say every six months to a year or so, that would certainly solve the problem to a certain extent,” Mr Griffiths said.
“We often have to pick up the rubbish ourselves around the entrances to our properties and then take this rubbish to the tip.
We also have to pay some pretty high rates, so why shouldn’t Council help us by cleaning this up? I would be interested to know the demographics on this, whether it is from local people, or from drivers passing through on their way to the coast or north to Goulburn?”
Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Works Manager Andrew Palmer said that they usually respond to any complaints about roadside rubbish.
“We have in the past conducted rubbish collections around the corner of Painters Lane and Braidwood Rd as well as on Yattalunga Rd,” Mr Palmer said.
Palerang Council also has input into the management of the road. Senior Engineer of Works Barry Osmond told the Post that they take any issues to do with the road very seriously.
“We conduct monthly checks for any issues with the condition of the roads such as potholes and road edging, etc, and litter is not usually considered a high priority because it is not considered dangerous,” he said.
“Inspections are usually done at 80kph in a car and if litter is in the long grass it can often be very difficult to see. If Mr Griffiths has a complaint about the rubbish in future, all he needs to do is contact us and we can come and have a look to see if we can do something about it.”