Unlock trolley fix now
Supermarkets put on notice
A LARGE supermarket – and any other proposed for the Gold Coast – will be rejected if grocery giants remain off their trolley.
Council is vowing to axe a massive Coles development at Varsity Lakes 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 Dr and Main St 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.
“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.
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.”
A Coles spokeswoman said the company was “actively working” to reduce trolley abandonment.
She said methods included daily collections around streets and 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.”