About 100 concerned residents converged at meetings in Lockwood and Bendigo on Wednesday to discuss issues they claim are being ignored by the State Government.

The meetings were held to build support in their fight against the Calder being used by trucks carrying toxic waste to a proposed dump site at Hattah-Nowingi, near Mildura.

Sharon Peart, a member of the Save the Food Bowl Alliance, said waste should be reduced on-site instead of being transported along the Calder corridor.

''If the tonnage is reduced there would be more room to store the waste where it's being produced," Ms Peart said.

The community's opposition to the dump had strengthened since the No Mallee Toxic Waste Dump Roadshow visited central Victoria, including Bendigo, this month, she said.

Ms Peart said Lockwood residents were particularly concerned about waste travelling on the Calder, which passes near the small town.

‘‘Resident s are concerned about trucks travelling in groups on the highway, noise, spills, the clean-up operation and how it will all work," she said.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Major Projects John Lenders said waste presently transported along the Calder posed a greater risk to the public than the proposed toxic waste.

‘‘The waste is not medical, poison or radioactive," he said. ‘‘Effectively, it would be in concrete blocks. There is no capacity for it to leak and it would not pose danger." An independent report to determine if the dump will go ahead at Hattah-Nowingi will be released later this year.

A public meeting against the dump will be held at Gisborne on June 8.