mmg.com.au

Rubbish dumped in a major Shepparton Christmas shopping area has been called ‘‘unsightly’’ and ‘‘disgusting’’ by customers and traders.

Shopper Rick Carlisle from Tatura said cardboard boxes, bags containing food containers and what appeared to be household rubbish scattered around four skips in the car park adjoining Maude and Vaughan Sts was a safety hazard and bad for the city’s image.

‘‘It’s the stench and it probably attracts vermin,’’ Mr Carlisle said.

‘‘It’s unsightly. It doesn’t make the town look good.

‘‘And what happens if someone takes a match to it?’’

The skips are used by adjoining businesses Crazy Clark’s and Best and Less.

However, rubbish has been left on top of and surrounding the skips.

A spokeswoman for the Crazy Clark’s Shepparton store said the skips were emptied up to three times a week and locked overnight to prevent public misuse.

‘‘I really don’t know what you can do about it. It looks really bad,’’ she said.

She said the problem had become increasingly worse during the past six to eight weeks.

A spokeswoman for the Shepparton Best and Less store said the dumped rubbish was an eyesore.

‘‘I think it’s terrible and it’s disgusting. It reflects badly on the businesses in this area,’’ she said.

Both store representatives said the businesses were leased and they did not own the land or car park.

Greater Shepparton City Council manager sustainability and environment Greg McKenzie said as the land was privately owned, it was not the council’s responsibility to remove rubbish.

‘‘Council does not own the land, but council reminds all businesses and residents that they have a responsibility to dispose of their waste correctly, and anyone caught disposing of waste incorrectly may be issued with a fine,’’ Mr McKenzie said.

The council was yesterday unable to confirm ownership of the car park.