Wilclean Cleaning Services has held the Bathurst 1000 cleaning contract for the past 14 years, and has been responsible for keeping the Mount in tip-top shape before, during and after the event.

But the work will be done this year by a rival comany, Spotless, after the Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO) awarded them the cleaning rights for the whole V8 Supercars series.

Wilclean managing director Rob Dawson said his comapny employed more than 100 local people at Mount Panorama last October.

“We started off with 56 people in our first year and over the 14 years as the event has grown we have built that number up to 102 locals,” Mr Dawson said yesterday.

“But unfortunately we’re not doing it this year. We wanted to let the local people know and thank them for all their efforts.”

Wilclean is one of the most experienced cleaning contractors in Australia, with a number of high-profile events on their books.

“We look after concerts but also the Australian Golf Open and Australian PGA, the Gold Coast marathon, Sydney dragway and Willowbank dragway in Queensland,” he said.

“We also go as far as Cairns for their show and as far as Perth for the Australian Masters Golf Open.

“But when you grow something from the start like we have at Bathurst and then lose it, then it hurts – not so much but all those local people who have put in the time and now the job isn’t there any more. That’s why we wanted to let them know and thank them.”

Wilclean’s army of casual workers last year cleared more than 200 tonnes of rubbish from Mount Panorama on the morning after the Bathurst 1000.

As usual, the camping area at the top of the Mount was the biggest challenge, with workers faced with a sea of aluminium cans, abandoned chairs and tarpaulins, rolls of carpet, piles of wood and even an old fridge still full of ice.

AVESCO media manager Cole Hitchcock said it made good business sense to award one company the cleaning contract.

“Tendering on all the races ensures we will have common standards of service and cleaning and a more reliable system across the nine events,” Mr Hitchcock said.

“There are also clear economies of scale and advantages with dealing with the same company at all events.”

A spokesperson for Spotless said the company employs about 30,000 people across Australia.

“In addition to hiring locally wherever possible, Spotless has built a large network of over 4,500 subcontractors drawn from the local communities.”