Toowoomba residents reveal solutions for city’s abandoned trolley issues

As residents float solutions to the city’s abandoned trolley problem, it can be revealed why the council didn’t pursue new local laws around it.

Toowoomba residents have offered their solutions to what they say is the city’s growing issue with abandoned shopping trolleys, just seven months after the council discontinued creating local laws around it.

While official data suggests otherwise, locals have reported seeing a significant rising in trolleys discarded in public areas — often found in waterways and footpaths.

Chronicle readers have suggested a raft of potential fixes, including the expansion of Aldi’s coin-based system, wheel-locking mechanisms and consequences for both the culprits and the businesses that own them.

It comes after the council voted in December last year to not proceed with amending its Community and Environmental Management Local Law 1, which was floated in 2022.

If pushed forward, it would have created punitive measures for retailers that failed to mitigate trolleys being taken away, with a further amendment to a subordinate local law restricting it to shops with more than 20 trolleys in its possession.

Toowoomba Regional Council in 2022 floated a local law to help reduce the amount of shopping trolleys being abandoned across the city, like here at the O'Quinn Street Park.

Council officers recommended it be axed due to is $112,000 cost of implementation, the low complaint volumes, the anti-competitive nature of the law and the availability of alternative solutions.

This recommendation was endorsed by councillors at the ordinary meeting, with deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff the only elected member to vote against discontinuing it.

Here’s what residents had to say about the issue:

Support for coin or token system:

Lissie Mariah

maybe do what aldi does, require a gold coin and a token to use.

David Phillips

What about inserting $2 token in the trolley like at Aldi and on return you get your $2 token back from the trolley.

Lexis Campbell

The problem is all the people who think they have a right to take a trolley wherever they want and then leave it there. Aldi doesn’t have the same problem because of its $2 holding fee for using the trolley.

Bev Moore

Come on you don’t need a university degree, to fix it. Do what Aldi and Fresh and Save do, use a coin or token. No trolleys in the streets.

Matt Denham

Coin system should work.

Esther Murphy

If they need a trolley to shop and take it out side, put a $5 price on it and get the money back when it is brought back. People are so lazy.

Alexander Alexandrovich

Use a coin-based system to interlock the trolleys like ALDI.

Wheel-locking mechanism suggested

Pete Freeman

Wheel locks. So they can’t take them to far.

Amy Cooper

To the wheels of the trolley could be a device added that when a trolley goes over a set perimeter around the stores carpark, this activates the wheels to lock, so they will be extreamly difficult to push out of the carpark. They had something like this in UK.

Patricia De Voss

Have the trolleys wheels lock as soon as they leave area. Always a pile of trolley left outside of units. Opposite Clifford Gardens.

Kaitlin McCann

Make trolley with wheels that lock up if taken out of carpark

Maree Maunder

Either put a wheel brake so they can’t go outside the car park and put a coin deposit and lock like at spotlight and Aldi.

Chantelle Rogers

Make ppl pay for them like aldi or lock wheels so they don't leave the shopping complex.

Hugh Wilson

What (the council) did do was vote against a bylaw last November I think, that sought to require retailers with more than 20 trolleys to take responsibility for them. Instead the Mayor prefers to see the creeks fill with them. All retailers here have to do is what they have already done elsewhere and retain them on their property, by any means they choose but the best method is to lock the trolley wheels when pushed outside the designated area.

Responsibility and consequences

David Barron

Simple get people to call shop and tell were they see trolleys then go into a draw for free shopping. (Works in Canberra)

Shaz Casson

Fine the business. $1000 per trolley left out. give the rate payers a break And Watch them quickly become autonomous self returning trolleys. they do price gouging enough to cover the cost.

Sonia Collins

You never see Aldi trolleys around our streets. There is your answer right there. !!!

Mandi Jane

Almost every grocery & retail store in Victoria has a coin or token system in their trolley’s. There is also a hotline to call for them to collect them if they leave the carpark and local councils fine the business if they are left in the streets.

Frankie Zuiderduin

You can ring a number and give them the location. The trolley will be collected. (Google it)

Therese A Houghton

Do what Aldi do. Gotta return to get you $$ back.

Garry Wilkinson

The costs associated with paying people to collect these trolleys by the respective supermarkets would added to our grocery costs!

Originally published as Toowoomba residents reveal solutions for city’s abandoned trolley issues