It is an ugly distraction from the wetlands and greenery at the peaceful section of the Yarrowee Trail. 

But by Sunday afternoon the area will be plastic free, thanks to hard working volunteers participating in Clean Up Australia Day. 

It is the fifth year Mr Palmer has organised a clean up at this site. 

"This was clean perfectly last year and here it is a year later and there is plenty of rubbish here again. It is frustrating," he said. 

"Any bit of plastic people drop out of their car or litters outside finishes up in the waterway."

Plastic waste can persist in the environment for centuries. Most plastic items never disappear, they just get smaller and smaller. Many tiny plastics are swallowed by farm animals or fish, and have also been found in majority of the world’s tap water.

If current trends continue, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

It is expected around 30 people will lend a helping hand on Sunday to help clean up the creek, with a group of cub scouts also set to get involved. 

Mr Palmer said it was encouraging to see so many people volunteer their time to help clean up Ballarat, but more needed to be done to keep plastic rubbish out of the city's waterways.

He said there needed to be more litter traps in creeks that flowed into the Yarrowee River and the establishment of a container deposit scheme to provide an incentive for the collection of rubbish. 

READ MORE: Big bottle on tour for cash for containers push

Victoria is one of only two Australian states yet to commit to a container deposit scheme, where refunds are given for the return of beverage containers to depots for recycling. 

A container deposit scheme would create higher rates of recycling by providing recyclers with quality input material free of contamination. 

City of Ballarat councillor Belinda Coates said council had advocated to the state government for a container deposit scheme on a number of occasions in past years, while there have been many submissions by the Municipal Association of Victoria since 2011. 

"Container deposit schemes work, so why is industry opposed and why is the Victoria government dragging the chain on this?," she said. 

READ MORE: Urgent call for state leadership to speed up war on waste

Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions, No Waste Ballarat, Plastic Bag Free Ballarat and Boomerang Bags Ballarat support a container deposit scheme.

The Boomerang Alliance visited Ballarat as part of their ‘Big Bottle Tour’ in April last year to rally support in the call for the scheme.

A container deposit scheme was first introduced in South Australia in 1977, and has seen an overall container return rate of 80 per cent with a 10 cent refund for each container.

The Northern Territory and South Australia both have an operating container deposit scheme. New South Wales began rolling out their container deposit scheme Return and Earn in December 2017, Queensland and the ACT began the scheme in 2018, while Western Australia’s scheme is expected to start in 2020.

On Sunday, Environment Minister Lily D’Ambriso said the government continued to “monitor and evaluate” the schemes in other states.

Visit cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/ for more information about how to get involved in Clean Up Australia Day in Ballarat. 

There are 14 clean up locations registered in Ballarat. 

Mr Palmer said everyone was welcome and the clean ups were a great team effort. 

"Everyone is friendly and you know you will feel great when you leave because you have done something for the community," he said. 

RELATED COVERAGE: