A Christchurch City Council attempt to create a map of hot spots for abandoned shopping trolleys has failed because staff could not obtain retailers' information about where the trolleys were dumped.

In May last year councillors asked staff to examine ways to address the issue of abandoned trolleys, after a report showed that 6313 trolleys had been abandoned between October 2024 and October 2025.

RNZ was told trolleys cost an average of $300 but could cost up to $700 each, with Woolworths spending more than $1.5 million per year on abandoned trolleys nationwide.

One of the suggestions was to create a heat map for locations where shopping trolleys were frequently abandoned and compare them with bus routes.

The report, which would go to the full council on Wednesday, said staff could not produce the requested heat map because information gathered by Send Snap Solve, an app that logged maintenance problems such as dumped rubbish, graffiti and abandoned trolleys, belonged to the retailer and could not be shared with council.

The report said Retail NZ members generally felt they already had sufficient systems to manage trolley retrieval and were not keen to develop a memorandum of understanding with the council on best-practice trolley recovery.

Retail NZ also said retailers objected to the term "abandoned trolleys" because trolleys were stolen, rather than left behind.

The report recommended council staff liaise with Retail NZ to consider a public awareness campaign to encourage people to report abandoned trolleys.

It also recommended including trolleys in an upcoming council campaign about illegal dumping.

Retail NZ advocacy manager Denise Garland said stolen shopping trolleys were a serious and expensive issue for retailers around the country.

She said most retailers collected dumped trolleys within 24 to 48 hours of being notified that a trolley had been found.

"What we feel it comes down to is the reporting of stolen shopping trolleys. Retailers don't know where their shopping trolleys have gone unless it is reported," she said.

Retailers primarily relied on members of the public reporting stolen trolleys, which was where the system was failing, Garland said.

 

She said Retail NZ would support a public campaign, in conjunction with the council, encouraging people to report stolen trolleys.