Marion Council declares war on shopping trolleys, collecting more than 200 in four days

FOR years they have been labelled a blight on the landscape, dumped in front of people’s houses, in parks, and even sent rolling down river banks.

FOR years they have been labelled a blight on the landscape, dumped in front of people’s houses, in parks, and even sent rolling down river banks.

Now, Marion Council has declared war on abandoned shopping trolleys.

Staff collected more than 230 of the carts from streets surrounding Westfield Marion and Castle Plaza, Edwardstown, across the four days to May 21, in a bid to demonstrate just how many were left littering its district.

Mayor Kris Hanna said his council planned to organise a summit to come up with ways to reduce the number of wayward trolleys.

Marion Council wants less trolleys left lying around the district.

It would also approach major retailers to discuss possible measures, which could include coin deposits, GPS trackers or a heavier focus on fining “irresponsible shoppers”, he said.

“The current situation is that ratepayers are paying for Marion staff to collect trolleys – and that’s not what they’re paid to do.”

“Our lowest paid outdoor staff are paid about $1200 a week and it takes a lot of time to pick up 200 trolleys.”

Cr Bruce Hull said the area around Marion Shopping Centre was a “hot spot” for abandoned trolleys and he had long been pushing for a solution.

“It’s been an issue that’s dogged councillors that are no longer with us because they’ve passed away,” he said.

The community can join the campaign via the Facebook page Trolleywatchsa or follow @trolleywatchsa on Twitter.

What do you think should be done to reduce the number of trolleys left lying around local streets? Leave your comment below.