Broken glass bottles, large slabs of concrete, empty food packets, dumped furniture and commercial waste are piled up on Ardgowan Terrace Lane near Kelvingrove.
Residents claim the lane is attracting vermin as well as criminality.
They say discarded furniture and other rubbish being dumped in the back courts of tenements is spilling on to the lane.
There are also fears that people are regularly scavenging through bins after two men were caught on camera emptying out rubbish bags and rummaging through them.
A number of tenements on Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street back out on to the lane. Many of these areas are strewn with rubbish. The lane has a sign suggesting it is an Environmental Improvement Grant recipient and another warning of the penalties for dumping.
It is yards away from the Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre, which will be used as a venue during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and near to the top tourist attraction Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Morgan Erskine, whose flat backs on to the lane, said she feels unsafe because of a spate of attempted break-ins and now refuses to go out to the back.
The 27-year-old said: "Somebody tried to break in through my back window because it's all overgrown and there's loads of rubbish. It's happened to two other people in my close. The lane is attracting the wrong sort of people.
"There are also rats and foxes so it's just a disgusting area."
Ms Erskine said her hands are tied because the area behind her flat is owned by a commericial property. She believes the solution would be to create green space.
She said: "It's about lazy owners not doing their bit. I like the idea of a nice space for the community that we could all keep tidy.
"I feel unsafe in my own home at the moment."
Amjad Rafiq, 38, owner of nearby shop Park Dairy, and Anderston resident, said the area was at its worst at the beginning and end of university terms as landlords gutted properties.
He said: "These people don't have any respect for the area. I have lived here for 10 years and it's just constant. It is like a dumping yard.
"You turn your back for one second and suddenly there's big bits of furniture when you look around. There's also been a really bad vegetation smell and I've noticed rats."
Emily Wrack, 22, lives with six people in a top floor flat on Sauchiehall Street.
She recently took a photo of two men scavenging through the rubbish below her bedroom window. She said: "It is horrible. I hate taking the rubbish out because you have to step over glass and lots of other rubbish.
"I was watching out the back about five days ago and I noticed two guys looking through the bins. They were tipping them out and left the place in even more of a mess.
"This is a student flat and a lot of people think we don't put bins away properly or we are disrespectful but it's not our fault."
Glasgow MSP Sandra White said: "The issue, which is of great concern to many and one which I have raised before, is that of back lanes and properties which are unkempt and generally an eyesore and a health hazard.
"You only have to look at the areas to see the appalling state they are in with rubbish strewn about, weeds overgrown, dumping of household goods and in this case what appears to be commercial waste dumped, a sure breeding ground for rats and vermin. We are approaching the Commonwealth Games and many events will be hosted at Kelvingrove so you have to ask: 'What message does this send out to the people who will attend the games?'."
Local Councillor Nina Baker said she visited the site earlier this month because of tenents' worries and was "disappointed"
that it hadn't been cleared up by the council.
However, she said there should be a crackdown on disposing after tenancies end. She said: "The main issue is about irresponsible landlords. Landlords are running a business so this is not ordinary household waste, it is commercial waste and it should be treated like that.
"It is no wonder the lane is attracting criminality."
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said it was a, "fly-tipping hot spot". He said: "The selfish and illegal actions of a small minority of people means a small number of areas in the city do experience fly-tipping
"Arrangements will be made for this to be uplifted, anti fly-tipping signs will be erected and the site monitored for future problems.
"Fixed penalty notices of £50 may be issued for fly-tipping.
"Major offenders may be referred to the Procurator Fiscal without the opportunity of paying a fixed penalty notice and can face a fine of up to £40,000 by the courts."
rachel.loxton@ heraldandtimes.co.uk
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