Coles, Woolies could be fined for shopping trolley littering

Supermarkets could be forced to fork out up more than $13,000 in fines if shopping trolleys are left abandoned in suburban NSW streets.

Under the Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Bill 2021 that was introduced into state parliament last week, a three-hour collection time limit on trolleys, vehicles and other items causing a safety hazard would apply.

If the items aren’t removed, fines ranging from $660 to $13,750 could apply.

The peak body representing NSW councils welcomed the possible tightening of impounding laws.

Local Government NSW (LGNSW) president Linda Scott said abandoned trolleys posed a risk to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians and even clogged local waterways.

“There are 8900 supermarkets right across NSW and thousands more stores offering the use of shopping trolleys every day — recently four western Sydney councils alone collected 550 abandoned trolleys in a single day,” she said.

“The widely used ‘trolley tracker’ app has taken reports of more than three million abandoned trolleys since it was launched, so that gives an idea of the scope of the recovery problem and of the cost to councils and ratepayers.

“Past efforts to deal with the problem, including deposit-based systems, geofencing, wheel locks and trolley trackers have not prevented the abandonment of millions of trolleys, which is why local governments have pushed so hard for legislative change just like this.”

Ms Scott said the new rules put the onus back onto supermarkets, making them accountable for the misplacement of their property.

She added ratepayers spent more than $17m each year recovering abandoned trolleys.

“The new cost-recovery components in the legislation means councils alone will be able to claw back almost $10m of this cost.”

If passed, the new laws would also benefit other agencies responsible for keeping public spaces clear, including police.

“Officers will now be able to enter an abandoned motor vehicle to identify its owners and then charge that individual the fees for recovery and possible storage of that item,” Ms Scott said.

“It’s a sensible move, and councils are grateful to the government for the extensive consultation and other work it has done with councils and supermarkets to help resolve this problem.”