Topical 7/12/21

Virtually every community which has a supermarket faces the issue of abandoned shopping trolleys left in the streets. Now, tighter trolley regulations are in the wind. Local government NSW president Linda Scott said “these abandoned trolleys pose a very real risk to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, while others clog our local waterways. There are 8900 supermarkets 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.” Past efforts to deal with the problem, including deposit-based systems, geofencing, wheel locks and trolley trackers have not worked. New legislation would put a three-hour collection time limit on trolleys causing a safety hazard and a seven-day limit for others. Fines from $660 for a trolley to $13,750 would apply.