A Current Affair: A Melbourne resident and fish n' chip business owner are at loggerheads over trolleys dumped around neighbourhood

Dec 14, 2023

There's a question that's been around as long as supermarkets themselves - do you dump your trolley after unloading your shopping or do you return it to the trolley bay?

Melbourne Docklands wharf resident Joel Smith-Rainey is sick of stumbling across abandoned supermarket trolleys left in his apartment block's communal area, Monument Park.

Smith-Rainey reckons he spotted the culprit - nearby fish 'n' chip shop owner Duke Holder.

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"He (Holder) grabs his groceries and other food supplies for the fish 'n' chip shop, circles around the bush and he will dump his trolleys," Smith-Rainey said.

The concerned resident filmed Holder in the act and asked A Current Affair to approach the shop owner.

"I've got my hand caught in the cookie jar, but who wouldn't?" Holder said when he was approached.

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But Holder insisted he shouldn't cop all the blame.

He claimed he only uses already abandoned trolleys to ferry supplies from his car to the shop, because the council charges him up to $200 each time to lower the bollards for vehicle access.

"(It's a) pretty expensive way to unload your groceries," Holder said.

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"(It's) cheaper to have it on a camel's back."

Holder and Smith-Rainey have had heated exchanges over whose responsibility it is to return the trolleys to the supermarkets.

City of Melbourne Council said there is no local law that specifically prevents or prohibits leaving trolleys in public spaces, but where issues are persistent the council can investigate.

The council also doesn't forecast relaxing charges to lower vehicle bollards for business owners like Holder, to unload supplies directly from his car.

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"We're aware of an ongoing issue in Docklands involving the abandonment of shopping trolleys at Monument Park," the council said in a statement.

"We're investigating the issue to ensure Melburnians have uninterrupted access to this important public space."

So that leaves Smith-Rainey and Holder at loggerheads.

For the full story, watch the video above.

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