Port Phillip Council fines supermarkets fined over dumped Coles and Woolies fined

Supermarkets in Melbourne’s inner south have been fined thousands of dollars as part of a council blitz on dumped trolleys.

Supermarkets in Port Phillip have been slapped with several $500 fines in the last two months as part of a council blitz on dumped trolleys.

But the wayward shopping receptacles continue to litter the streets and have even been used as weapons, traders say.

The council vowed to crackdown on trolley folly as part of an overhaul of its local laws, which came into effect on July 1.

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Under the new laws, businesses must install wheel locks or coin-operated locks on all shopping trolleys.

But Tolarno Hotel manager Vincent Cooper said abandoned trolleys were being smashed into cars and shop windows along Fitzroy St.

“The 7-Eleven has had two broken windows from shopping trolleys being slammed into the glass recently,” he said.

“And we had one guest who parked across the road while he came to check in and someone pushed a trolley into the passenger side of his car.

“(Trolleys) are a real problem … because they’re being used to damage property.”

Police confirmed there had been several trolley-related vandalism incidents reported to them in recent weeks.

Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss said six fines, totalling $3000, had been issued between July 1 and August 24 for trolleys found on council land without locking devices fitted.

And the council had received 15 complaints about pesky trolleys between June 1 to August 1, compared to 13 for the same period last year.

Cr Voss said the council would continue to meet with supermarkets and trolley collection companies to ensure they complied with the local law.

“The aim (of the law) is to improve safety and amenity through better management of shopping trolleys that find their way into the community and are abandoned,” she said.

Last year the Leader revealed 42 dumped trolleys had been impounded by the council between January and April.

A Woolworths spokesman said all its trolleys at Port Phillip stores had been fitted with coin locks, in line with local laws.

A spokeswoman for Coles said all stores had complied with the council’s requirements.

“Our trolleys across the electorate are fitted with coin locks and, where possible, electronic barrier technology,” she said.

Neither supermarket responded when asked by the Leader if they had been fined.

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