Pressure is being “ramped up” on major supermarkets to clean up their act over abandoned shopping trollies strewn all over a town.
Nearly 250 carts have been dumped in and around Swanley over the last couple of months alone.
Since the last week of December, Swanley Town Council (STC) says it has had to collect 210 Asda trollies and 34 from Aldi.
But while Aldi’s carts have wheel lock technology in place to stop them being removed from the car park, the local authority says Asda turned this technology off when the pandemic started.
Shopper Margaret Harding said: “They can be seen all around the town.
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“People take their shopping home and then leave them around the streets. I often find when I go shopping there are no trolleys available outside the store.”
Mum-of-three Shannon Parker has also noticed them being left in residential roads and alleyways.
She said: “They always get dumped in the alleys which makes it difficult for me with the buggy.
“I either have to try and move it myself which I can’t really do, or backtrack and go another way which is annoying to be honest.”
Others say the problem dates back decades.
Emma Lou, 39, said: “When I was 17 I did a school photography project on Swanley and the various trollies scattered around the town.
“It’s been a problem for at least 23 years.”
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Another man, who did not wish to be named, added: “When my wife and I first moved to Swanley we noticed them piled up on a lamp post.
“We thought it was an art installation as they were there for so long.”
The town council is now turning up the pressure on the supermarkets.
In 2020, Swanley became one of the first parish councils to receive powers from its Sevenoaks District Council and the government to pick up trollies and recover the costs from the retailers for doing so.
In December, the town council announced it will be increasing these charges and will be contracting a dedicated individual to collect more abandoned trollies.
The costs for this will then be directly passed onto the supermarkets, it says.
Ryan Hayman, CEO of the town council, told KentOnline: “We have ramped up the pressure on the supermarkets in Swanley by collecting nearly 250 trollies in the past month.
“We are working with Asda to run a public information campaign and continue to stress the need for the maglock system to be reintroduced.
“In the meantime, we will continue to be the most industrious council at collecting trollies and the fines for the stores will continue.”
The council has also been working with Kent County Council to secure a designated storage site within the local area which will solve issues they were previously having regarding the amount it could hold in storage on its land.
The ultimate aim they say is to ensure supermarkets place restrictions on their trollies to prevent them from being taken away from the site in the first place.
On Tuesday (January 30) a meeting will be held with Asda to discuss the fly-tipping issue.
Asda has confirmed it is looking to repair and reintroduce its trolley retention system which stopped due to the pandemic.
A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said: “We will be working constructively with [the council] to resolve this issue.
“In the meantime, anybody who spots an abandoned trolley can directly report it using the Collex app so that it can be collected and put to better use.
“We would ask that customers please return their trolleys once they have finished using them.”
Aldi has a similar system in place and works with Trolleywise to try and make sure any dumped trolleys are collected.
It said since installing trolley locks in June last year it has had no reports from residents regarding trollies being taken from the store.
Councillor Paul Darrington (Con), who represents Swanley White Oak ward, said: “We are committed to promoting a tidy town.
“The measures we are implementing send a clear message to supermarkets that they must actively contribute to the cleanliness of our streets.
“We look forward to working collaboratively with retailers to address the issue at its core and enhance the overall quality of life for our residents.”
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
