Glenorchy City Council has started a blitz on abandoned shopping trolleys in a bid to clean up the city’s streets and footpaths.
Glenorchy Mayor Bec Thomas said abandoned shopping trolleys were not only unsightly, they were a public nuisance and potential safety hazard, which was why the council was determined to tackle the problem.
“In just a few hours, council staff collected more than 70 abandoned trolleys from areas in and around our CBD.
“While we continue to work with retailers to have them collect trolleys and offer sufficient collection points for their customers, we also need to get the message to the community that stealing and dumping trolleys is not okay.
“Abandoned trolleys are an eyesore, and as a council we have a responsibility to ensure we keep our municipality as tidy as possible, which is why we are collecting them and impounding them.
“Once they are impounded, we contact the retailers who own them to collect them, charging a fee to lessen the impost on ratepayers.
Glenorchy Alderman Russell Yaxley said abandoned shopping trolleys were a constant source of annoyance in the community.
“Cleaning up litter of any sort, let alone shopping trolleys, is a cost burden on ratepayers, particularly when all that needs to happen is for people to do the right thing in the first place and return them to the retailer when they have finished with them.
“Trolleys should not be removed from the retailer’s property and should be returned after use to a dedicated collection bay. They definitely shouldn’t be strewn around where they can potentially become a hazard for pedestrians or motorists, or end up dumped in drains or waterways.
“An abandoned trolley is a cost to the community. It’s as simple as that.”
Mayor Thomas said major retailers had hotlines people could contact to alert them to abandoned trolleys, and the council would be posting these details on its website.
“One of our goals is to be a clean and litter-free municipality, and we all need to work together to make this happen,” she said.
Find out more information on abandoned shopping trolleys here