After complaints over large amounts of rubbish left at the Wendouree West Recreation Reserve, Salvation Army Thrift Shops, charity bins at the homemaker precinct opposite Stockland Wendouree and the Big W carpark, and Woowookarung Regional Park, some residents have suggested the introduction of kerbside hard waste collection and the reduction of transfer station fees.

According to City of Ballarat chief executive officer Evan King, hard waste collection, offered by 54 per cent of Victorian councils, is soon to be investigated.

"The City of Ballarat is about to commence development of an updated waste strategy, where we will be reviewing our systems, including consideration of a hard waste collection," Mr King said.

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However, Mr King was quick to add hard waste collection might not be the solution to the problem and it would also possibly come with consequences.

"Illegal dumping occurs across Australia in communities with or without a kerbside hard waste collection," he said.

"The addition of a kerbside hard waste collection potentially adds significant cost to ratepayers and may not necessarily encourage the community to avoid collecting waste and to reuse materials."

Mr King also addressed the prospect of reducing transfer station fees.

"The transfer station gate fees, depending on the product, reflect the current processing, transport, and disposal costs associated with that product," Mr King said.

"The City of Ballarat continues to review market opportunities for transfer station products to keep costs as low as possible for residents."

Deputy mayor Amy Johnson also commented on the issues of illegal dumping and solutions.

"I'm a strong advocate for the introduction of hardwaste collection in Ballarat," Cr Johnson said.

"I also support the initiatives at our transfer station, including the two free tip vouchers per household, free green waste week, and half-price mattress week."

Cr Johnson emphasised the importance of residents taking responsibility for waste management.

"While we want to make waste services affordable and accessible, we absolutely need to encourage all residents to think hard about how much waste we generate," Cr Johnson said.

"Throwing things we no longer want into a big hole in the ground to emit methane for a hundred-plus years is hopefully something that will soon become a thing of the past."

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Kerbside collection of hard waste is not common in the region.

A spokesperson from Hepburn Shire Council focused on the existence of multiple transfer stations and some additional assistance for certain residents, including storm victims.

"Hepburn Shire Council operates transfer stations in Daylesford, Creswick and Trentham," the spokesperson said.

"As there is no transfer station in Clunes, we provide an annual hard rubbish collection for the Clunes township. Council is currently providing a kerbside collection of storm-damaged materials in Creswick - for example, wet carpets and other spoiled materials - to help storm-affected residents with their clean up."

Moorabool Shire Council also does not offer a hard waste kerbside collection service.

"Currently, residents must drop off hard waste items to transfer stations at cost or are encouraged to utilise buy-swap-sell groups," the shire's waste and environment team said.

"Many non-metropolitan Victorian councils do not provide a kerbside collection due to the high costs and associated logistics of providing such a service."

That said, change could occur in the Moorabool Shire in the near future.

"Moorabool Shire is in the process of undertaking a costs/logistics analysis to understand the feasibility of introducing a hard waste service," the shire's waste and environment team said.

"Community consultation has begun with more than 700 respondents to date.

"We are soon to release our Draft Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 which includes an action to make a hard waste service decision.

"The outcome agreed upon needs to be cost-effective for ratepayers under a full cost recovery model (i.e. a charge placed upon rates notices)."

Based on reports from concerned residents, there appears to be no end in sight to the habit of illegal dumping of waste, with native park lands being abused.

Opportunity shops, charity bins, and reserves have been sites of the illicit practice in recent times. In addition, some in Ballarat's suburbs are simply leaving items on their nature strips.

Other areas heavily affected by the reckless actions are the region's park lands, such as Woowookarung Regional Park, home to native flora and fauna.

Friends of Canadian Corridor secretary Jeff Rootes possesses great worries for his beloved paradise.

"The amount of rubbish which is dumped in the park is just extraordinary," Mr Rootes said.

"What we're getting is lots of heavy furniture, mattresses, and car parts. It used to peak at the end of university season.

"That's actually dropped off, but we're still getting these dumps from people from big household clean-outs. Some of the stuff is toxic. Asbestos gets dumped."

Mr Rootes has observed garden waste, including weeds, being left in the bush as well.

Friends of Canadian Corridor member Rob Loveband is also distressed about the actions of the minority.

"Every week, I report dumped rubbish to Parks Victoria," Mr Loveband said.

"On Monday, I reported two dumped mattresses. There is a lot of is tyres. It's not good."

Parks Victoria area chief ranger Siobhan Rogan is conscious of the issue.

"Parks Victoria is aware of instances of rubbish being left at much-loved areas, such as Woowookarung Regional Park," Ms Rogan said.

Mr Rootes believes lawful rubbish disposal in the city is cost-prohibitive and, while in no way does he condone the littering, he can see why some do it.

"The charges at the tip have become really, really difficult," Mr Rootes said.

"When someone dumps a mattress up in the bush, (they avoid) a $30 charge at the tip. Somebody who's on a limited income, you either eat for a couple of days or go to the tip."

The City of Ballarat's transfer station's fees vary. While certain items, like types of eWaste and glass, can be left for free, a charge is associated with other items like general waste ($69.50 per cubic metre) and green waste ($30 per cubic metre).

Mr Rootes is also critical of what he sees as the Ballarat transfer station's inaccessibility.

"Sometimes of a Saturday morning, you'll find the queue out the gate," Mr Rootes said.

"It's actually not user friendly."

There are numerous ramifications of illegal dumping of waste, according to nature lovers.

Firstly, the waste negatively affects the aesthetic appearance of the surrounds.

"The rubbish in the park is simply unsightly and it degrades the park (and) the visitor experience," Mr Rootes said.

Environmentally, there are effects, some of which stem from the abandonment of green waste.

"Parks Victoria has to spray some of the areas to kill the weeds," Mr Rootes said.

The damage to the natural habitat goes even further.

"Rubbish has many impacts, including waste contaminating local water supplies and animals and birds being poisoned from eating household waste," Ms Rogan said.

In addition, the refuse leads to economic consequences.

"Parks Victoria has a contractor who goes around the park every Wednesday," Mr Rootes said.

"He picks up a truckload of rubbish. That's how bad it is. That's a cost for Parks Victoria. On the council-owned roads around the bushland areas, it's a big cost on council (too). The money could be spent on community facilities."

Ms Rogan acknowledges the financial and time-consuming burden of dumping.

"The process of removing rubbish is a significant expense to Parks Victoria which also diverts park rangers' time away from managing and improving the state's parks and reserves," she said.

"This impacts the maintenance of facilities and implementation of conservation programs that protect plants, animals, and historical and cultural sites."

Much can be done to address the growing problem.

Ideally, residents and businesses will take responsibility for their refuse.

"We ask people that do have waste from their homes or businesses to do the right thing by taking their rubbish to their local council or shire waste disposal site," Ms Rogan said

Mr Rootes urges community members to take action.

"If you see someone dumping rubbish, collect the registration number," he said.

"We've all got mobile phones these days; photos are even better. Report it. If it's in the park, report it to Parks Victoria. Report it to city council.

"At the end of the day, it's part of our community and it's part of our story."

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