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| Abandoned trolley charge approval | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A council can now charge supermarkets £60 for each abandoned shopping trolley it recovers. | |
| Wrexham council's executive board has voted to adopt powers allowing officers to trace owners and charge them £60 every time. | |
| A report for the council said despite the efforts of supermarkets, the number of abandoned trolleys had "remained constant after an initial improvement". | |
| The new charges could come into force in April. | |
| The charge would cover the cost of recovery and storage of the around 50 trolleys the council collects every month. | |
| This amount is based on £35 for the van and driver collecting/delivering the trolley; storage costs of £10; and an administration cost of £15. | |
| We share the council's concerns about abandoned trolleys - that's why we do everything we can to ensure that none of them go walkies from our stores Asda statement | We share the council's concerns about abandoned trolleys - that's why we do everything we can to ensure that none of them go walkies from our stores Asda statement |
| The council is required to store a trolley for six weeks after seizing or removing it. | |
| Chief environment officer John Bradbury said that abandoned trolleys had always been a problem for Wrexham. | |
| In his report to the council, he said: "Abandoned trolleys have always been an issue for the council and have historically been dealt with on an ad hoc basis. | |
| The report laid out the reasons for tackling the problem. | The report laid out the reasons for tackling the problem. |
| Flooding risk | Flooding risk |
| "The adoption of the powers is an opportunity for the council to further enhance its enforcement measures and take a pro-active stance to effectively deal with the issue of abandoned trolleys and allow for the costs to be recovered from the owner of the trolleys." | "The adoption of the powers is an opportunity for the council to further enhance its enforcement measures and take a pro-active stance to effectively deal with the issue of abandoned trolleys and allow for the costs to be recovered from the owner of the trolleys." |
| It said: "Shopping trolleys taken from their original site and abandoned in the surrounding communities cause problems in many neighbourhoods. | It said: "Shopping trolleys taken from their original site and abandoned in the surrounding communities cause problems in many neighbourhoods. |
| "When abandoned, these trolleys have a negative effect on the quality of the local environment, and trolleys abandoned in water courses have the further potential to cause blockages which result in a significant flooding risk." | "When abandoned, these trolleys have a negative effect on the quality of the local environment, and trolleys abandoned in water courses have the further potential to cause blockages which result in a significant flooding risk." |
| The Welsh Local Government Association said they did not believe Wrexham are the first council to have introduced the trolley recovery charges. | |
| Asda said in a statement: "We share the council's concerns about abandoned trolleys - that's why we do everything we can to ensure that none of them go walkies from our stores. | Asda said in a statement: "We share the council's concerns about abandoned trolleys - that's why we do everything we can to ensure that none of them go walkies from our stores. |
| "Most of our customers can be trusted with trolleys but we'd plead once again with the minority of people that do take them off site and abandon them to stop doing so, and ask anyone else that sees one abandoned to give us a call so that we can go and collect it." | "Most of our customers can be trusted with trolleys but we'd plead once again with the minority of people that do take them off site and abandon them to stop doing so, and ask anyone else that sees one abandoned to give us a call so that we can go and collect it." |
| 'Wheel-locking' | 'Wheel-locking' |
| A Tesco spokesperson said: "We have a wheel-locking system in place to prevent trolleys from being removed from the premises, however, if customers are determined to take the trolley off site, it will be hard for us to prevent this. | A Tesco spokesperson said: "We have a wheel-locking system in place to prevent trolleys from being removed from the premises, however, if customers are determined to take the trolley off site, it will be hard for us to prevent this. |
| "We also have a regular trolley collection service, and if our customers do see any of our trolleys that have been abandoned we will then make the effort to go and collect them." | "We also have a regular trolley collection service, and if our customers do see any of our trolleys that have been abandoned we will then make the effort to go and collect them." |
| Last year, British Waterways set up a national scheme to help members of the public report shopping trolleys abandoned in canals and rivers. | Last year, British Waterways set up a national scheme to help members of the public report shopping trolleys abandoned in canals and rivers. |