No wipes? No worries. This sanitising unit can clean your trolley for you

Using sanitising wipes to clean your shopping trolley could become a thing of the past now that a South Australian supermarket has achieved a nationwide first.

In an Australian first, an Adelaide supermarket has installed an automated sanitising unit to disinfect shopping trolleys in the ongoing fight against COVID-19.

The technology is being trialled at Drakes Supermarkets’ Fulham Gardens store, in Adelaide’s western suburbs, and sprays the trolley with a water-based solution that kills germs.

The supermarket’s director John-Paul Drake said the ‘Sanitizit’ was a better option for the environment than wipes and saved customers time.

Supermarket director John-Paul Drake says the Sanitizit will give a more thorough clean than using wipes. Image: Supplied

“It’s a fine mist that sprays the whole trolley and the baskets as well, and (wipes) could be a thing of the past,” he said.

“Feedback from the team as well as our customers has been positive and we will look at possibly rolling out into more of our stores.

“I have no doubt all the other supermarkets will follow.”

Drakes Supermarkets, which is the largest independent grocery retailer in the country, has more than 60 stores across South Australia and Queensland.

The unit can sanitise four to five trolleys at one time. Image: Supplied

Mr Drake said the trail unit came from the US and the product would continue to be manufactured in South Australia.

The machine cleans the entire trolley and can disinfect four to five at one time.

The units are also low voltage and use very little power.

A hand held wand connected to the machine can also be used to sanitise shopping baskets.

Shopping baskets can also be sanitised with a hand held wand attached to the Sanitizit. Image: Supplied.

The supermarket chain has teamed up with SAGE Automation, whose chief executive Adrian Fahey said he was delighted to bring the product to the Australian and New Zealand markets.

“SAGE will be the exclusive manufacturer of the Sanitizit product in Australia from our advanced manufacturing centre at Tonsley in South Australia and will provide ongoing support nationally via our 14 state and regional office locations,” Mr Fahey said.