Dumped shopping trolleys present a significant safety hazard in public spaces.
They block walkways, create tripping hazards for pedestrians; particularly for the elderly, children, and those with mobility issues.
Trolleys often end up in areas where people least expect them, causing accidents and injuries.
Discarded trolleys have also been known to obstruct traffic, posing a risk to motorists.
They are found on roads, forcing vehicles to swerve, which could lead to accidents.
In areas where trolleys are left on the edge of roads or near crosswalks, they limit visibility for drivers, increasing the chance of collisions.
Trolleys are also used for criminal activity or vandalism.
They are found in rivers, canals, and drainage systems, causing blockages that disrupt water flow, leading to flooding and environmental harm and also become biohazards.
They fill up with vegetation, litter and become a home for vermin, pests and insects.
Abandoned trolleys contribute to unsightly and neglected urban spaces, and act as a magnet for more waste and illegal dumping, creating unsightly rubbish dumps and making neighbourhoods appear unsafe and neglected.
One local council has had enough of the decades old problem.
Liverpool City Council wants tougher state laws that empower councils to properly deal with the scourge of abandoned trolleys.
Councils can only immediately impound trolleys that don’t have owner details or are a hazard.
If a trolley’s not causing a hazard, the council ranger must inform the owner and wait three hours before impounding it. An identifiable trolley left on public property has to be left for four days before it can be impounded.
The council has started taking firm action to address this issue, launching a policy of impounding as many dumped trolleys as possible.
And to make it clear it’s serious, council says impounded trolleys that are not collected will be fed through a scrap metal shredder.
Great. Fully support this action.
Great report – about time councils throughout the state got the government to act on this. Meanwhile you can report instances of dumped trolleys to the Woolwoths, Coles, Aldi etc websites or on the Snap Send Ssolve app to get something done about it
If the residents call a 1800 number the supermarket trolleys can be retrieved for free by the owners of the trolleys.
The shredding of trolleys will make supermarket prices more expensive -b a poor outcome in a cost of living crisis.
brilliant – all councils should do this, it is difficult to report dumped trolleys to owners, and my experience is it can take months for them to be collected after reporting to the owners – this should have been done a long time ago – need to do the same with hire ebikes that are dumped and abandoned.
Trolleys should be fitted with a wheel locking device to prevent them from leaving the car park around the supermarket that owns them. Irresponsible shoppers are the issue…fines should be placed on those undertaking the theft of the trolleys in the first place. The cost to stores is usually around $2,000 per trolley.
Great!
I’ve reported a number of abandoned trolleys via the Snap Send Solve app. Coles managed to collect their trolleys within three days of receiving my reports. Woollies however, have shown to leave a lot to be desired when it came to arranging collection. They have been left for weeks on end after initially reporting them, and oftentimes required resubmitting reports. Call me Karen, but I like a nice, safe and attractive local area. Not one that looks crappy!