Queensland’s Logan City Council is set to introduce new laws requiring retailers to have shopping trolley containment systems in place by July, in a bid to rid the streets of abandoned trolleys. Under the new laws, retailers in Logan will also be required to identify their shopping trolleys with the name and address of their businesses. The move follows in the footsteps of neighbour Brisbane City Council, which last year passed a bylaw requiring trolley owners to secure trolleys on their premises, with fines for offenders ranging between $200 and $20,000.
Between July 2008 and March 2009, Logan City Council retrieved around 660 abandoned trolleys.
Animals and City Standards Committee Chairman, Councillor Graham Able, said the issue is one Council is serious about solving.
“Discarded trolleys are an ugly sight in any community and they’re also an expense to retrieve for both Council and retailers,” he said. “By making containment systems compulsory in Logan City, we’re looking to eliminate these problems.”
One containment system Council suggested is a coin lock system.
“Coin or token operated systems involve customers inserting a coin or token into a trolley to activate it, then having the coin or token refunded when the trolley is returned,” Councillor Able said.
One local supermarket is already using the coin lock system with great success.
“We rarely have to impound trolleys from this supermarket, so it is clear that these systems work,” Councillor Able said.
However, this system is not popular with local elderly residents, who believe their shopping experience might now become increasingly difficult.
Logan area Committee on the Ageing spokeswoman Sue Connelly believes the system could disadvantage the elderly and disabled.
“If they’ve got arthritis in their hands, which a lot of people eventually do, they would have problems getting the coins in and out of those machines,’’ she said.
Councillor Able said a more effective method could be the perimeter containment system, where trolley wheels lock once outside the perimeter of the shop. This system would overcome the need for customers to carry coins when shopping. While it would cost around $70 per trolley to install, Councillor Able believes this will be outweighed by long term trolley retention and happier customers.
