SHOPS in Droitwich which see their shopping trolleys dumped and abandoned could be charged hundreds of pounds under a new scheme being introduced by Wychavon District Council.
The move was agreed by the authority’s executive board and the powers are being granted to officers under the Environmnetal Protection Act.
It comes after complaints from residents in some parts of the district about trolleys being dumped in ditches, ponds and streams.
It was particularly bad between April and July wen Wychavon collected 30 trolleys from watercourses, costing the taxpayer £3,000.
A public consultation was held during July and August. More than 50 people took part in an online survey which revealed 94.4 per cent of them agreed trolley owners should be responsible for the cost of removing, storing and returning abandoned shopping trolleys while 96.2 per cent agreed it was unfair for the council to pay the costs associated with dealing with abandoned trolleys.
Just over 69 per cent of people who responded said they had witnessed abandoned shopping trolleys in their area several times a week or several times a month, but 59 per cent never reported them. And, of those who did, more than 60 per cent said nothing happened as a result.
From March 1 next year, businesses which fail to find their trolleys and collect them will be charged £100 for the first trolley and £50 for each one found abandoned.
Wychavon will also be working with retailers to raise awareness of how and where people should report abandoned shopping trolleys to.
Coun Emma Stokes, Wychavon’s portfolio holder for environment and street scene, said initially the aim would be to work with retailers and encourage them to take steps to stop trolleys from being removed in the first place and collect them quickly when they had reports of ones being dumped.
“However, if they fail to take responsibility for their property then we will in future have the ability to act and recover our costs without unfairly penalising the council taxpayer.”
