'We found a Birmingham Airport trolley in Hollinswood': Abandoned trolleys ‘causing concern’ in Telford, meeting told
Abandoned shopping trolleys continue to be an issue in parts of Telford despite a parish council’s best efforts, a meeting heard.
Hollinswood and Randlay Parish Council heard that it is picking up so many carts that a specially created unofficial ‘park’ soon fills up with them.
Councillors at a meeting on Monday (December 15) agreed that it is better for it to collect all the trolleys together in one place, where they can be picked up by contractors, than have them spread out all over the parish.
Councillor Joshua Creed said there has been a “lot of resident concern” over the trolley ‘park’ that the parish council had set up on green space near a doctor’s surgery.
“But the people who collect them don’t seem to be coming often enough,” he added.
Parish warden Glyn Johnson, who picks up abandoned trolleys from across the area to take them to the central collection point, told the meeting that the trolleys are only collected by different contractors on certain days.
He explained that there are two different contractors who can only pick up certain trolleys, and they do not come on the same day.
Mr Johnson added that there has been a “big improvement” in the abandoned trolley situation but the “only downfall is kids moving them, but you are always going to get that”.
“I have seen a vast improvement,” he added.
The meeting heard that a councillor had discovered a Marks & Spencer trolley in the heart of Brookside, which is outside the parish of Hollinswood and Randlay.
But Mr Johnson added: “The worst trolley we’ve ever found was a Birmingham Airport trolley in Hollinswood.”
Telford & Wrekin Council supports a scheme where residents can report abandoned shopping trolleys.
Its website says that they are a “hazard to pedestrians, cyclists and road users and an eyesore on our streets”.
“Supermarket shopping trolleys should be left in the trolley bays provided by the supermarket; trolleys should not be used to take your shopping home,” it adds.
The borough supports using the Trolleywise phone app to report abandoned trolleys from Aldi, B&Q, Home Bargains, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and The Range.
But abandoned Asda trolleys have to be reported on the Collex website or by emailing request@collextrolley.com.
Other trolleys on public land can be reported to Telford & Wrekin Council online.
“We will contact the relevant store and request that the trolley is removed,” the council website says.
“If they do not do so, we do have the right to impound the trolley and give the store six weeks to claim it.
“After that, we recycle the trolley and charge the store for any costs incurred.”
