Abandoned trolleys are a familiar sight in shopping centre carparks, here’s how many Aussies claim to put them back

They are a familiar sight in shopping centre car parks all over Australia.

Shopping trolleys; not in the designated trolley bays but strewn across car parks and even resting on vehicles. 

Now, an exclusive Nine.com.au poll has found out just how many Aussies claim to put their trolleys back inside the supermarket or a designated trolley bay when they’re finished shopping.

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The poll asked readers, “Do you always put your trolley back at the supermarket?”

Of the 613 people who responded, 86 per cent said ‘yes’ while 11 per cent said ‘no’. The remaining three per cent said it was ‘not applicable’.

But if 86 per cent of people surveyed by Nine.com.au claim they always return their trolleys, who is responsible for all the ones left in supermarket car parks?

I recently returned to the rooftop car park at a shopping centre and found a trolley resting against my two-year-old vehicle.

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It had presumably blown there in high winds – something that wouldn’t have happened if the previous user had pushed it a couple of metres to one of the trolley bays located in the car park.

We have all seen trolleys left in car parking spots, precariously close to other vehicles. Sometimes I have had to get out of my car to move a trolley before I could park, and have taken many wayward trolleys back to the trolley bay myself.

Then there are the trolleys located many metres away from shopping centres and abandoned in the street.

Both Coles and Woolworths have taken measures to stop trolleys from being taken from stores, including the use of wheel brake mechanisms that prevent trolleys from being wheeled beyond the store’s perimeter.

A spokesperson from Woolworths who responded to questions from 9honey said, “Trolleys are provided for the convenience of our customers and the vast majority do the right thing in returning them.

“We understand abandoned trolleys can be a nuisance and that’s why we invest millions in collection services and have additional measures in place which feature a locking mechanism to help mitigate their impact in the community. 

“We work closely with dedicated collection contractors who respond quickly to reports of abandoned trolleys to return them to our stores.

“They also conduct regular sweeps for abandoned trolleys in the streets surrounding our stores.”

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Meanwhile, Coles asks the public to report abandoned trolleys on its website or via its app. It has also installed the wheel brake technology on trolleys in many of its stores.

Some councils have also introduced big fines for retailers whose trolleys are abandoned in the street.

In 2021, Newcastle Council, in regional NSW, introduced fines ranging from $660 to $13,750 for supermarket operators as part of a crackdown on abandoned trolleys.

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