When The Courier visited the site on Monday, it saw tonnes of rubbish known as 'waffle pods' littering the creek bed over an area of at least 500m.

And nearby residents say they have had enough, saying that whenever wind blows more unsecured rubbish gets thrown in the air from the raft of building sites in the nearby area.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said she genuinely feared she would be hit by the flying debris.

"I've reported it to council, but all they've said is that they could send a couple of people down to clean it up, but looking at the amount of it, that's not going to do much," the resident said.

IN THE NEWS

"I went out and took a video, I genuinely thought stuff was going to come through and hit me in the head, or at the least, take out my letterbox.

"The man next door has five or six big chunks in his yard. What is it doing to the waterways?"

Waffle pods are seen as a cost effective way of building concrete slabs for new homes, extensions or commercial buildings. The polystyrene is not biodegradable so needs to be recycled.

Fortunately for plant, animals and water health and consumption, it is not considered toxic, however, like all rubbish in waterways, it could have a lasting effect on bird and aquatic life.

EPA South West Regional Manager Carolyn Francis has reminded Ballarat builders and land developers that they must manage their projects to prevent pollution incidents occurring.

"We're noticing an increase in building activity, which is great for the region, but builders and land developers are subject to the duties of the new Environment Protection Act 2017, including the general environmental duty, and they must control and prevent potential pollution risks from their sites," Ms Francis said.

"This includes simple actions like preventing sediment run off from the site so that it is not discharged to stormwater drains or local waterways, ensuring any noise is within the permitted times (7am to 6pm), notifying EPA of any pollution incidents and identifying any contaminated land is appropriately reported to EPA and managed."

"Sites should also be managing any litter they create. That can often be as simple as making sure the skip bin lid is closed and that waffle slab styrene is properly tethered on site before being secured in the concrete pour."

The EPA said it would notify the City of Ballarat about the issues at this site.