BRIMBANK City Council is conducting a three-month trial to collect and impound abandoned shopping trolleys.
The council has so far impounded 300 trolleys, 201 of which were taken in the first week, with 93 picked up in St Albans, 62 in Sunshine and 28 in Deer Park.
Brimbank mayor Margaret Giudice said abandoned shopping trolleys were causing a number of problems in Brimbank.
“Not only are abandoned shopping trolleys unsightly, but they are a danger to pedestrians and motorists and can cause environmental harm if they end up in waterways,” she said.
“Brimbank Council is conducting the trial to encourage businesses to take responsibility for the trolleys they provide and implement strategies to retrieve trolleys that are discarded by customers.
“This is not just the fault of the businesses — if customers would only return the trolleys after use this problem would be eliminated,” Cr Giudice said.
The council will contact the companies concerned and advise them that the trolleys can be collected from the council’s pound at $50 each. All companies that have shopping trolleys were advised of the trial prior to implementation.
The local law dealing with trolleys is being reviewed.
The review proposes that from 1 July next year a person supplying 25 shopping trolleys or more should provide either a coin mechanism or electronic wheel-locking devices and that no shopping trolley if left on any road, path, nature strip or other council land except in an area designated for that purpose.
The trolley retrieval trial is being conducted in response to community and councillor concerns and will run from 27 August to 30 November.
Residents should contact the council on 9249 4000 to report abandoned shopping trolleys.
