Maddy Harris, 21, goes out two or three times a month and says there is always piles of rubbish by the time she gets to the taxi rank. 

“There’s always chip trays and screwed up paper bags piled up around the taxi line,” she said. “It’s pretty gross and not a nice sight.”

Ms Harris believes the reason behind the littering is a combination of the location of the bins and laziness. 

“I think there is a problem with where the bins are located on Lydiard Street. If you’re eating hot food when you’re lining up at the taxi rank, the last thing you want to do if you’ve been waiting for an hour or so, is lose your spot in the line, so people just chuck it on the ground. I think the bins need to be closer to the line,” she said.

However, a City of Ballarat spokesperson said an appropriate number of bins were installed in Lydiard Street and the late-night entertainment precinct.

“It is unfortunate that some revellers in the Lydiard Street area choose to litter rather than use the bins provided.”

Discussion about the litter problem began after The Courier last week published a photo of Lydiard Street North’s taxi rank where two men were stabbed in the early hours of Sunday morning. The area was then cordoned off as a crime scene, which meant the rubbish which would usually be swept away by Sunday morning was still there. 

Although the photo revealed the problem to many who don’t go out in Ballarat on a Saturday night, regular clubber Simone Boorn-Wells said the litter problem had been going on for years.

“This is something that happens every Friday and Saturday night,” she said. 

The 23-year-old said the litter was so bad she now resorted to other ways of getting home. 

“I absolutely hate waiting down there. Not only are you waiting around drunk people, but half the time you’re sliding on chips, cheese and gravy as well. When I go out now, I usually drive or get my friends to take me home.”

Ms Boorn-Wells believes the problem is a lack of care. 

“I think most people by 4am or 5am who are intoxicated don’t care by that point. They think ‘It’s not my problem, someone else will clean it up’.”

And that’s exactly what happens. Java Lounge owner Steve Hutchinson said was not an issue for him, because the rubbish was swept up well before the business opened on a Sunday morning.

sharni.carroll@fairfaxmedia.com.au