In a Western Australian first, the City of Bunbury installed 18 storage lockers designed for homeless people and travellers.
Installed in February 2019, the lockers used a pin to store and keep belongings safe for 12 hours.
Ten of the lockers are located outside the Intown Lunch Centre, a support service for vulnerable people.
Chairperson of the Intown Lunch Centre, David Bailey, said the lockers created a mess.
"They've got a 12-hour locking system, but what happens is they either forget about them or just dump things onsite," Mr Bailey said.
"They may have food in them or just rubbish and we have to clean it up.
"It's a really bad look, the council need to look into this."
Mr Bailey said about half the lockers near the centre are used on a regular basis.
Lockers serve a purpose
The lockers were installed after 13-year-old Bunbury girl Bella Burgemeister lobbied the council to fund the $30,000 project.
City of Bunbury Mayor, Gary Brennan, said despite some issues with rubbish, the lockers are making a difference.
"These people that use them you've got to understand that some of them do have very complex mental health issues and they need support," Mayor Brennan said.
"At the end of the day they serve a purpose and we can all get by cleaning up a mess every now and then."
Theft concerns by homeless people
Jack Moffat, 27, has been homeless for 12 years and sleeps a few metres from a set of the storage lockers.
Mr Moffat estimated there were about 200 people sleeping rough in the city and believed the lockers are a great option for some people who worried about their possessions while they sleep.
He chose not to use them because he worried about theft.
"If I take my medication and don't wake up in time, I can't afford to have identity theft or medication stolen just because those lockers pop open," Mr Moffat said.
"It should be a 24-hour box, where you don't have to go back to relock it so often."
