Council proposes £100 shopping trolley fines

THE COUNCIL HAS LAUNCHED A CONSULTATION ON A POSSIBLE NEW ABANDONED SHOPPING TROLLEY POLICY AFTER THE ISSUE BECAME PROBLEMATIC IN THE CITY JONATHON HILL News reporter and NICHOLAS THOMAS,

LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER 16:59, 02 Jun 2025 A Welsh council is considering imposing a £100 fine on supermarkets for each shopping trolley left abandoned on public grounds with trolleys

having been left strewn across the city. After residents and councillors highlighted the issue again earlier this year Newport city council has has identified abandoned trolleys as an

escalating issue within the city and in particular in the Lliswerry area, where locals report the problem is rife. In Lliswerry councillor Andrew Sterry said in March that he'd received

lots of reports of dumped trolleys which he claimed was not only an eyesore but a danger. He told a council meeting trolleys are increasingly being dumped in drainage channels in the ward

which he claimed posed a flooding risk. He said he had reported more than 100 incidents in the 12 months to March but trolleys are still blocking reens - a network of watercourses which

cross the residential area in east Newport. The city council has now responded with a new policy in the works aimed at tackling the problem by providing a monetary incentive for retailers to

ensure their trolleys remain on-site. Residents are expected to be consulted on the proposed abandoned shopping trolley policy soon. Article continues below According to the draft

regulations, the council would have the authority to collect any trolleys found on council property or public highways, storing them for a maximum of six weeks. Within seven days of

retrieving a trolley, the council intends to locate the owner, inform them of the seizure, and arrange for the trolley's return. The suggested fee for the service is £100 per trolley,

which is less than the £120 to £200 cost per trolley estimated by the council. Should the owner remain unidentified or fail to reclaim a trolley after six weeks, the council will claim

ownership and likely resell or dispose of it. Some supermarkets delegate the retrieval of abandoned trolleys to external agencies, yet the council contends "this process is far from

sufficient". While private property is generally outside the policy's scope, there is a provision to undertake collection from these areas should landowners request it.

"Abandoned shopping trolleys are having an increasing impact upon our local environment – they can make an area look run down, contribute to littering, antisocial behaviour, cause harm

to wildlife and create a flood hazard in waterways," the council said. "With this policy, Newport City Council aims to encourage businesses to introduce measures to control access

to and the use of shopping trolleys, to prevent them from becoming abandoned." The council also hopes the policy will "take steps to reduce the number of abandoned trolleys",

as well as "increase residents' satisfaction with the place where they live, and reduce waste and litter and associated antisocial behaviour". In nearby Cwmbran there are two

neighbouring estates where it appears an accepted practice to park a shopping trolley outside your home. Sometimes the residents there seem to have their own special trolleys which they

appear to have commandeered and which they take with them to the shops. You can read about it here. Article continues below