Safety first. Thats what I always say.

You asked “how are people supposed to get the groceries home if they live nearby?”

If you don’t want to drive and live nearby you can get a cab, or home delivery $5ish, or you could be environmental and buy your own wheeled carrier, about $8. Most people had them before suburbs and supermarkets took off in the seventies.

Your argument about people employed to pick up the trolleys, is not effective because I pay the same price as you and carry my groceries home myself, sometimes on the bus. I would prefer to pay less money than subsidise bad habits

The Aldi concept is good, but it won’t discourage people who are intent on ‘borrowing’ trollies, only those who would normally leave them next to their car. The rental cost would need to be significantly higher to stop people taking them home.

As I said at the start, I dislike seeing these things littering the landscape environment everywhere. May I suggest you wear your journalistic hat and interview the manager of one of these supermarkets near to you and find out what they actually pay or each trolley and the cost of collecting them

I can see your point, but I don’t agree with you. I also aren’t singling you out, as I said this is a bugbear of mine

Also, I’ve received two emails from people concerned about me standing on the road to take photos…I had a torch with me and was shining it in the direction of any oncoming traffic to make sure that they knew I was there, as I didn’t have access to a reflective vest. I was also much further back from traffic than the pictures show, and moved off the road when they came.

Unfortunately the best position for “headlights in fog” shots was standing on the road.

It is stealing; not borrowing to take the trolley out of the carparks

And exactly how are people supposed to get the groceries home if they live nearby then? Fifteen trips to and from the shop?

BTW City Market is the only large food outlet within reasonable walking distance of Reid so it wouldn’t take a genius to work out where it came from.

Well the City Markets doesn’t exist any more (and before you say anything, City Markets is a name, not a plural), and I agree that it wouldn’t take a genius to work out where it probably came from, but I could have walked home with a trolley from either Ainslie, Campbell or Dickson.

Trolleys should be returned, but I think it is worthwhile noting that Supabarn, probably due to the high number of apartments in the area and therefore the high number of trolleys that are used in the area, employ people to pick up trolleys left around the nearby suburbs, and they always pick up a lot of trolleys…so therefore I am paying for that service when I buy the groceries and should be entitled to use it. This isn’t to say that I don’t think people should return the trolleys, because I think they should, however I’m sure you can see some logic in my point.

Personally, I quite like the Aldi model of paying a token fee for the use of trolley, and only getting your money back if you return the trolley.

Many people say they return the trolleys when they go back. That doesn’t help the poor bugger who has to go in later and carry a laden basket around as there are no trolleys left. It doesn’t stop the supermarket whacking up their prices to cover costs of missing ones, or recovering the ones that people have “forgot” to return. It is stealing; not borrowing to take the trolley out of the carparks. BTW City Market is the only large food outlet within reasonable walking distance of Reid so it wouldn’t take a genius to work out where it came from.

I’ll get off the soapbox now

For what it’s worth, the trolley was safer there (that spot is relatively covered) than in the Canberra centre which had plenty of flooding.

Also, I can’t see any identifying marks on that trolley, prosecution could be a bit difficult without proof of ownership.

I’m glad you liked the photos, and despite appearances in my text, I’m sure you were making a light-hearted comment about the trolley.