Woman Dives Into Creek, Pulls Out 300+ Shopping Trolleys

Every Sunday morning, Cassy Tzoutzias wades into dirty creek water to save the wildlife living there, one rusted shopping trolley at a time.

Since December, the Rockhampton volunteer has pulled more than 300 abandoned trolleys from Moores Creek, which flows directly through a major shopping center in central Queensland. The trolleys, covered in rust and gunk, bear the logos of Coles, Woolworths, and Big W, whose stores sit just meters from the polluted waterway.

"These are so rusted that they've been here for goodness knows how long," Tzoutzias says, hauling out a blackened cart. "The wildlife, they have to live with this."

The creek is home to platypus and other animals that depend on clean, flowing water. But the dumped trolleys block fishways and create pollution magnets, with people treating the cluttered waterway as a dumping ground for other trash.

Tzoutzias noticed something important during her cleanup efforts. She never finds Aldi or Kmart trolleys in the creek because those stores use coin-return systems that give shoppers a reason to bring carts back.

The Ripple Effect

Her persistence is creating waves. Local environmental groups like Capricornia Catchments are now calling for supermarkets to install wheel locks and coin-return systems across all stores.

Chair Michelle McCrae says the trolleys aren't just environmental hazards. When waterways look unloved and neglected, people develop bad habits, turning beautiful creeks into garbage dumps.

Mackay Council, further north, already fines major supermarkets $183 per abandoned trolley. Rockhampton Councillor Elliot Hilse says he'd support similar action, but hopes supermarkets will step up first.

Both Coles and Woolworths told ABC they're investing in collection services and have online reporting systems for abandoned trolleys. But right now, the cleanup still relies on volunteers like Tzoutzias getting their hands dirty.

Other community members have joined her Sunday missions, pulling rubbish from the creek and giving local wildlife a fighting chance. What started as one woman's frustration has grown into a community refusing to let their waterways stay polluted.

Tzoutzias keeps it simple: "Someone owns these trolleys, and they need to be responsible."

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