After a hot summer weekend, municipal maintenance workers pulled nearly half a ton of garbage off of the beach in Onset, according to Town Administrator Derek Sullivan.

At Tuesday's meeting, Selectmen said "enough is enough" with littering in Wareham.

"There is a core group of people from Onset to West Wareham that go around and clean up the town," Selectman Alan Slavin said. "We're just enabling the litterers by picking up their trash."

Slavin said he was fed up and wanted to see what could be done to make Wareham a "no-litter" town.

"I think we've been a no-litter town for awhile, but nobody is listening," Sullivan said.

According to interim Police Chief Kevin Walsh, the town's litter laws are difficult to enforce because the act of littering needs to be done in the presence of a police officer to get ticketed.

"Not many people are going to drive by a police officer and throw a Dunkin Donuts cup out of the window," Walsh said.

He also said that unfortunately, littering isn't always at the top of the priority list for police.

"It's a subject that the importance of it goes by the wayside until it gets noticed," Walsh said.

Although he said it's tough to enforce, he told Selectmen that earlier on Tuesday he sent out a memo to his patrolmen, reminding them of the no-littering bylaw in town. He said that a ticket for littering could be up to $300 and that there is a section of state law that would suspend a driver's license for a week if he is caught littering from his car, though he doubts the law has been used many times if ever.

"As a police department, we recognize it as a problem," Walsh said.

Selectman Patrick Tropeano said perhaps a $300 fine isn't strict enough for littering.

"It's a sin to look at your town after a weekend and see this," he said.

Slavin challenged business owners to combat the issue as well, since he said a lot of the litter comes from items purchased at local shops and restaurants.

Selectman Judith Whiteside said she heard the littering in Onset is the worst it has been in years.

"This isn't the type of town we want to live in," she said.