By Grimsby street cleaners shocked as trolley theft numbers surge
North East Lincolnshire Council’s street cleaners have reportedly collected up a staggering 140 trolleys in the last eight weeks alone.
The essential shopping item has been found in places like river banks, street corners, car parks and even under bushes.
Typically, private contractors collect the trolleys and return them to retailers, otherwise they are scrapped and the metal is recycled, but the problem has been getting worse.
Cllr Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for Environment and Transport at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “Our staff are picking up two or three trolleys every day.
“Not only do they look unsightly when they’re left on the streets or dumped in the river, [but] they can [also] injure wildlife and block the flow of water [which causes floods].
“It’s an unnecessary burden on our staff to retrieve trolleys.
“We know most people use them responsibly, but sadly a small number of people choose to dump them and leave us to pick up the mess.”
It is also difficult for these people to take time of their days to pull the trolleys out of difficult spots such as in water or mud.
Grimsby’s Canoe River Cleaner, James Elliott, has pulled dozens of trolleys from the River Freshney.
He said: “As well as undermining civic pride, shopping trolleys can alter the habit of our wildlife that call the river home.
“They can also pose a greater flood risk or algae build up as they act as anchor points for other litter and debris.
“I personally feel that supermarkets need to take personal responsibility and work with people such as myself and other volunteers to resolve this problem, or at least tackle it better.”
In the meantime, the Council are advising people not to take trolleys from retailers and supermarkets as it costs far more than a few pennies to clean up their messes.
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