Gainsborough supermarkets face charge for abandoned shopping trolleys

West Lindsey District Council has agreed to begin seizing, storing and disposing of the trolleys and will be charging the businesses £75 for each trolley they recover - increasing to the maximum if the supermarkets fail to do so.

Mark Sturgess, the council’s executive director for operations and head of paid service, said: “Our operational services team will begin recovering any abandoned shopping trolleys from the highway and the relevant supermarket will receive a weekly letter that states the number of shopping trolleys that have been collected that week.”

He added: “In implementing this policy we have been working with all the local supermarkets, we appreciate efforts that have already been put in place to reduce the number of abandoned shopping trolleys.”

The move follows a consultation earlier this year as the council searched for a way to reduce the amount of abandoned trolleys.

Announcing the plans at the time, councillor Judy Rainsforth, who represents the South West Ward in Gainsborough, said: “Most supermarkets are responsible and take all possible steps they can to prevent their trolleys being taken.

“However, abandoned trolleys are a significant concern in Gainsborough and I am approached by people on a weekly basis asking me what the council is doing about it because they make the area look untidy and uncared for.

“I also see people walking the trolleys out of the supermarket car parks and we need to take steps to prevent this.”

Shoppers were also reminded at the time that removing a trolley and not returning it could be considered as theft, or as fly tipping if the trolley is dumped.