Glen Innes Clean Up Australia Day saw a handful of faithful volunteers turn up to pick up.
And while there was an abundance of trolleys, the amount of bottles and tins strewn across rivers and park lands were dramatically reduced from previous years.
Mayor Carol Sparks said it was a testament to the success of return and earn schemes, with people taking advantage of the hip-pocket help brought by recycling.
"The day was really good," she said.
"We had very dedicated people turn up, and we were absolutely COVID friendly.
"We met in the park and had a couple of new people come along with us, and we were surprised that the amount of bottles and tins were greatly reduced this year, which was really, really good."
However the abundance of trolleys around the town was a matter of concern, she said, suggesting talks were needed with supermarkets.
"There needs to be a chat about what we can do, if they send someone out to pick up the stray trolleys everywhere," she said.
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The most interesting things the group found included a tent, cushions and pillows, and old doona.
The number of needles and syringes they found was also much less than previous years' hauls.
"In the past it was pretty bad, so there was definitely an improvement in our collection."
