In the wake of last Wednesday's storm, Orange City Council has offered assistance to residents to help with the large number of trees and branches brought down by the fierce winds.

Orange Mayor Tony Mileto said that while Council had initially advised callers that it was the property owner’s responsibility to dispose of storm-damaged green waste from their property, the scale of the damage has necessitated some support from Council.

“We don’t know the full scale of this but our experience on Council land shows there is a lot of work to do," Cr Mileto said. "There will be people in the community that have the ability to take their storm damage green waste to the Ophir Road Resource Recovery Centre, where it can be dropped off free of charge, and we encourage that...

We also know that not everyone has a ute or a trailer so we will pitch in where we can."

Cr Mileto said the RFS and the SES have done great work cleaning up after the storm, but the job’s not finished yet.

"The Council focus right now is clearing and making safe public areas and then we will move onto community support," he said. “We also want to hear from members of the community to manage their storm green waste. Get in touch with council, and we will see how we can assist. This won’t be an overnight solution, and we will need to prioritise the jobs as they come in.”

He said the first step is to fill up your green organics bin and place it out as usual. Those who can’t get the excess green waste to the Resource Recovery Centre are urged to contact council on 6393 8000 or email council@orange.nsw.gov.au