Varsity Lakes Coles faces axe unless retail giant joins trolley dumping crackdown

A plan to crack down on supermarket giants on the Gold Coast has been met with fury by locals who have declared it to be “blatant discrimination”.

A plan to crack down on supermarket giants on the Gold Coast has been met with fury by locals who have declared it to be “blatant discrimination”.

The Bulletin this week revealed a Gold Coast councillor was behind a proposed crackdown on supermarket mammoths Coles and Woolworths if they refused to make magnetic trolley locks mandatory.

Both supermarket giants have vowed to work towards improving the situation.

Bulletin readers had a mixed reaction.

“This is blatant discrimination,” wrote Ian,

Neil said: “Should be mandatory in all shopping centres right through the hole country”

Bryce wrote: Should be $10 minimum to hire a trolley and refunded on return”.

“Sick to death of lazy self-entitled people just leaving them wherever they unload and they damage cars parked next to where they leave them,” he wrote.

“The only thing they understand is money.”

An artist impression of a Coles proposed for a Varsity Lakes site.

Shock crackdown: Gold Coast shopping giant under threat

A large supermarket – and any other proposed for the Gold Coast – faces being rejected if grocery giants remain off their trolley.

A massive Coles development at Varsity Lakes will be the test case for a crackdown if supermarket mammoths Coles and Woolworths refuse to make magnetic trolley locks mandatory.

Robina councillor Hermann Vorster said errant shopping carts littering waterways and narrow streets were hurting the ratepayers’ hip pocket, and tough laws were needed to clamp down on the illegal dumping.

Council’s planning committee this month agreed to update its conditions of approval for supermarket developments to reflect tougher measures on trolley collection.

A proposal for a Coles development on the corner of Bellevue Drive and Main Street is the first in the firing line.

The shopping centre, which will have a 3236sq m supermarket, 153sq m Liquorland bottle shop and two specialty shops, is before the council for approval. The 8670sq m site is directly across the road from Homecorp’s $250m, four tower Capital Court residential project.

While admitting shoppers were to blame for the dumping, Cr Vorster said supermarkets were ultimately responsible for the trolleys.

“It costs ratepayers big bucks to pull trolleys from lakes when we’re carrying out essential maintenance,” he said.

“The worst impacts can be for those living with low vision or in wheelchairs when their only safe path to work, services and public transport is blocked.”

Cr Vorster said the problems stem from supermarkets using a collection service when smaller competitors had showed magnetic barriers and coin returns worked.

Councillor Hermann Vorster. Picture Glenn Hampson

“This is not a new problem – and the solutions are not new either,” he said.

Magnetic locks are in place at several shopping centres across the city. However, they are not mandatory.

The bulk of shopping centres employ people to collect trolleys or use Trolley Tracker, in which members of the public report abandoned shopping carts.

The two supermarket giants have vowed to work with the council to solve the issue.

Abandoned trolleys cost council thousands of dollars to collect each year. Picture: Hermann Vorster

A Woolworths spokeswoman said the majority of customers did the right thing.

“We understand abandoned trolleys can be a nuisance and that’s why we invest many millions in collection services to help mitigate their impact in the community,” she said.

“We will work closely with relevant government stakeholders, local councils and the Gold Coast community in relation to shopping trolley management.”

Trolleys have been dumped in Gold Coast waterways Picture: Hermann Vorster

A Coles spokeswoman said the company was “actively working” to reduce trolley abandonment.

She said methods included daily collections around local streets and the installation of wheel lock systems where suitable.

“Coles works collaboratively with councils all over Australia in the management of abandoned trolleys and, of course, we will comply with any new regulations brought about by the City of Gold Coast,” she said.

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Originally published as Varsity Lakes Coles faces axe unless retail giant joins trolley dumping crackdown