Latrobe City Council's Local Laws Team conducted a series of meetings in October and November 2023 with retailers who offer shopping trolleys, to find proactive solutions for the ongoing issue of abandoned shopping trolleys. Representatives from Australia's largest trolley recovery company, Trolley Tracker, and Latrobe City Council's Waste Management Depot Team provided significant input.
Abandoned trolleys across Latrobe City have negative social and environmental impacts. These trolleys can create safety risks for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. In Morwell, Moe and Traralgon, many trolleys are dumped in nearby waterways, clogging rivers, drains, creeks, and culverts, contributing to flash flooding during extreme weather events.
These consultations resulted in several positive outcomes for Latrobe City. Contractor collection services by all major supermarkets in Morwell, Moe, Traralgon, and Churchill have been increased. Dumping hotspots have been identified across the municipality, which will see increased contactor collection services. Trolleys in hard-to-access areas will be removed by a specialist Trolley Tracker contractor, a process which was previously highly costly for the Council Depot crews.
New signage will be displayed at the path leading to waterholes and creeks, advising residents on how to report abandoned trolleys. In addition, major retailers are beginning the process of investigating the feasibility of trolley locking devices and perimeter locks to prevent abandoned trolleys.
Mayor of Latrobe City Council, Councillor Darren Howe, said that these outcomes will make the retrieval of abandoned trolleys simpler, faster and safer.
"Recovery of abandoned shopping trolleys is time-consuming and causes risk to health and safety, and significantly lowers the amenity of our region," said the Mayor.
"These proactive solutions to the ongoing issue of abandoned trolleys are in line with the Council Plan 2021-2025, which demonstrates a commitment to protect the environment and ensure Latrobe City is a healthy place to live, learn and work."
Central Ward Councillor, Councillor Graeme Middlemiss, has been at the forefront of advocating for proactive solutions to the issue of abandoned trolleys. His assistance in resolving this issue has led to the removal of abandoned trolleys and the improvement of the visual amenity of Latrobe City.
"Fast reporting of abandoned trolleys to the appropriate authorities is the easiest way to keep our environment clean and safe. I urge residents and visitors to report abandoned shopping trolleys as soon as they see them. Hopefully, this overcomes what has become a real nuisance in some areas. Council will also be monitoring the collection response by businesses in the hope that further action is not required," said Councillor Middlemiss.
