New bid to curb Crawley menace of dumped shopping trolleys

Local supermarkets can now be charged for the collection, storage and disposal of dumped trolleys under new powers adopted by Crawley Borough Council.

The council decided on action following an increase in the number of trolleys left strewn around the town last year.

The council says its ‘neighbourhood services’ team will collect dumped trolleys - and charge supermarkets between £68 and £143 to reclaim them depending on the time they are left in council storage.

Any unclaimed shopping carts will be disposed of by the council and its costs reclaimed.

A growing number of shops in Crawley have signed up to Trolleywise, a company which provides a trolley retrieval service on behalf of supermarkets and which has worked with the council to help tackle the problem.

Councillor Geraint Thomas, cabinet member for environmental services, said: “We’ve listened to residents’ feedback to design a better service to combat the scourge of abandoned shopping trolleys in Crawley.

“This new way of working aims to incentivise trolley owners to take action rather than punish them for failing to do so.

“Experience from other authorities is that this is an effective solution as it resulted in a significant reduction in the number of abandoned trolleys. We are already seeing some evidence of this here.”

Trolleywise spokesman Simon King said: “Our retail customers take the issue of trolley abandonment seriously and we continue to work closely with them to find a way to reduce the issue. However, trolley loss in the UK is the highest in the developed world.

“We’re hoping that by working alongside Crawley Borough Council, we can raise awareness of the problem and engage members of the public to work alongside major retailers and help us to tackle the issue.”

To report an abandoned trolley, email [email protected] or call 01926 458745.