Canobalas Four-Wheel-Drive Club and Forests NSW Macquarie region joined forces on Sunday (2 March) for ‘Clean up Australia Day’ to remove car bodies left in State forests around Orange.

Forests NSW forest assistant, Brian Boyd, said the Canobolas Four-Wheel-Drive Club offered to remove car bodies in Canobolas State Forest to show their appreciation for being given access to the forests for four-wheel-drive activities.

Mr Boyd said the Canobolas Four-Wheel-Drive Club helped remove cars and rubbish from Canobolas and Kinross State Forests each year.

"This year we identified 10 car bodies in Canobolas and Glenwood Forests, which we removed on Sunday," he said.

"It was a huge task to get them out and we greatly appreciated the Club’s help."

Forests NSW used a truck to remove rubbish dumped in Canobolas State Forest.

"People dumping cars in State forests are a big problem. Not only are they unsightly, but they also pose a fire risk to the valuable publically-owned plantations in the area as the dumpers often set the cars on fire," Mr Boyd said.

Publicity officer for the Canobolas Four-Wheel-Drive Club, Peter Keil, said about 20 people from the Club were involved on Sunday.

"They used club member’s vehicles to winch some of the cars out of inaccessible areas," he said.

"We are very lucky to be able to drive our four-wheel-drives in State forests and cleaning up the forests is something we feel shows how much we appreciate being able to use the plantations.

"The proximity of the Mt Canobolas forests to Orange is great for people to access abundant natural surrounds on their doorstep, but it can also be a menace when people do the wrong thing such as dumping car bodies."

Media contact: Sarah Chester (02) 6036 2110 or 0417 207 669