With students back in Castle St in particular, councillors have noticed the increase of glass bottles.
At Tuesday’s council infrastructure committee meeting, councillors spent about 45 minutes on the perennial issue of glass-strewn streets, albeit without coming to a firm resolution.
Cr Jim O’Malley asked whether it was possible to employ someone to inspect particularly bad parts of Castle St and issue warnings.
Group manager for waste and environmental solutions Chris Henderson said the issue was fraught.
"We do have a considerably high level of service in the student area.
"The Litter Act is a bit dated and the fines are hardly worth chasing up.
"We actually have to witness them doing it, or have them admit it. As you could understand, it’s pretty difficult."
Cr Andrew Whiley, who is a Castle St landlord, said the glass on Castle St was such on Tuesday morning that it "looked a bit Mission Impossible to me".
Cr Kevin Gilbert suggested hitting landlords in the pocket.
"Has anyone considered a targeted rate for Castle St or a directive to encourage a little more responsibility?"
Mr Henderson said overall, things had actually improved in recent years.
"As we speak, I've got two people in the O-Week tent city educating people. Second-year students should know better. We service quite a few of the halls of residence.
"We do have communication that goes out to landlords. We do a targeted education campaign and bin inspections at the start of the year. I'm sure there’s something else we can be doing."
Cr Christine Garey said initiatives such as The Sophia Charter and groups such as Hold On To Your Friends had also campaigned on the issue.
After the meeting, Cr Whiley stressed it was not just a council issue, but one that "runs the gamut".
He also noted in terms of general landlord enforcement, "you were limited to what you can and cannot do within the tenancy agreement".
"We also have to realise, in most cases, this is the first time a lot of these young people are living on their own and having to make their own choices.
"That's a challenge, especially within a group mentality."
OUSA president Liam White said there were a couple of campaigns aimed at precisely that issue, along with co-ordinated efforts with Campus Watch.
The "Don't Be A Dick" campaign was particularly visible, he said.
"We're hoping that through our campaigns we're contributing to eventually a cleanup.
"I remember I popped a bike tyre one time going through Castle St because of the glass. It’s not great," he said.
