The proposal to investigate options to subsidise personal trolleys passed unanimously at a council meeting last Wednesday night. Harle said he plans to use funds from the environment levy to pay for as many as 500 of the trolleys.

Harle said he hoped the trolleys, which he would like to be sold for as little as $10, would reduce dumping by focusing on what residents need rather than punishing them.

“We’ve tried the stick approach, let now try the carrot approach,” he said.

The council has found the trolleys in drainage systems where they have caused blockages, and the sight of them on the side of the road acts as a magnet for more waste and illegal dumping, the council said.

Liverpool isn’t the only council area struggling to rid public places of dumped trolleys. Canterbury-Bankstown introduced a trial using AI technology and cameras mounted to street sweepers to identify abandoned trolleys.

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The council uses data from the cameras to create a heatmap and target areas of most concern. In the first few weeks of the trial, the cameras identified hundreds of trolleys each week.

Abandoned trolleys are one of NSW’s most complained about gripes. Data from Snap Send Solve previously reported by this masthead revealed it was the second-biggest issue for locals after parking, with 37,764 complaints in 2023.

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