More than 150 shopping trolley removal notices have been issued as part of a month-long crackdown on dumpers in the ACT.
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Territory and Municipal Services Minister Shane Rattenbury said the blitz in the Woden and Weston areas was designed to remind local retailers that fines of $112.50 could be issued for uncollected trolleys in public places.
But some traders believe the laws are putting an unfair burden on small businesses, with Ken Irvine, of Ziggy's Fresh Food Market, yesterday calling for fines to be issued to users who dump the trolleys rather than to retailers.
''It is revenue-raising plain and simple,'' he said. ''They are supposedly cleaning up the streets from rubbish but I guarantee you the trolley will be back there tomorrow or the next day and they keep hitting us with the fines.''
Mr Irvine said his Ziggy's business owned about 350 trolleys and was proactive in ensuring customers did not dump them illegally.
''We regularly complain to the universities about trolleys being taken by students and other demographics, but it is outside our control sometimes,'' he said.
With a price tag of about $100, Mr Irvine said the fines were almost as much as the cost of buying new trolleys.
Recent collections in areas of Gungahlin, Belconnen and Tuggeranong saw 137 trolleys impounded.
Mr Rattenbury said new rules made it an offence in the ACT to remove a trolley from a shopping centre or to use a trolley outside a shopping centre precinct.
''The new laws also aim to encourage retailers to collect their abandoned shopping trolleys in a timely manner or face financial penalties for failing to act,'' he said.
''Until recently, ACT government rangers have adopted an education-based approach to their compliance activities around shopping trolleys, regularly informing retailers about their responsibilities under the legislation.''