Twenty-one dumped shopping trolleys pulled out of the Sirhowy River

Rhiannon James, local democracy reporter

Twenty-one dumped shopping trolleys were pulled out of the Sirhowy River last week following concerns raised by a Blackwood councillor.

Independent councillor Nigel Dix contacted Ian Burton, Service Integration Manager at Wanzl UK, about the issue of trolley dumping and he agreed to remove the trolleys free of charge.

Wanzl UK produces and sells trolleys to supermarkets. It is also behind the Trolleywise scheme, which works with councils to retrieve dumped trolleys.

The Blackwood councillor has been calling on Caerphilly County Borough Council to take tougher action on trolley dumping since the issue was brought to his attention by a local litter picking group.

Cllr Dix said he was “concerned” with the amount of time it was taking the council to solve the issue of trolleys in the river.

He added: “What we need to make sure is that the river doesn’t get filled back up with trolleys.

“I am very grateful to Ian and his team for their offer of help.  I have asked the council to arrange a meeting with local supermarkets and their contractors who collect trollies, to put together a comprehensive plan that will ensure our rivers remain trolley free.”

Enforcement action

In May councillor Dix called for tougher enforcement action after a local litter picking group reported finding a significant number of trolleys dumped in the river.

Mr Dix said Caerphilly had a major problem with “supermarket trolleys being dumped in our rivers and abandoned on our streets” and called for supermarkets to be fined £1000 for every trolley found outside their premises.

He also wrote to council Chief Executive Christina Harrhy, calling on the authority to adopt Section 99 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which allows local authorities to remove abandoned trolleys from land and water, with the cost of the removal then charged to the owners of the trolleys.

At a scrutiny committee meeting in June, councillors agreed on an amended motion that did not include the adoption of the act, but instead proposed to “ramp up” current services.