We've teamed up with Trolleywise, a national organisation set up to retrieve abandoned supermarket trolleys. Trust staff, volunteers and members of the public can now report trolleys they find dumped in the canals and waterways via a free downloadable app or by contacting Trolleywise direct.
Over 600 incidents of supermarket shopping trolleys dumped in canals and rivers have been reported nationally over the past five years. In one incident on the Ashton Canal in Manchester, 40 trolleys had to be retrieved in a single operation.
Great strides
Our Senior Environmental Scientist, Karen Jackson said: “We've made great strides over recent years in tackling trolleys dumped in canals and rivers, but there is still more to do. Abandoned trolleys aren't just unsightly, they damage boat propellors and cost us thousands of pounds every year which we would be better spent conserving our waterways. We hope this new initiative will give us another weapon in the old battle between trolley and canal!"
By informing Trolleywise via their smartphone app or by contacting them directly, the location of an abandoned trolley is logged. Karen adds that "Trolleywise will then remove the trolley from the water and recover the cost from the individual supermarket. This frees our own staff to continue their important daily jobs of looking after the waterway network and keeping them free from pollution and other obstructions.”
The trial is being held in our Manchester and Pennine region and, if successful, will be rolled out across the country.
Joining forces
Stewart Turner, field operations manager for Trolleywise said: “Trolleywise is extremely pleased to have teamed up with the Canal & River Trust to address the issues presented by abandoned shopping trolleys."
“Returning the nation's waterways to a clean and litter free area is at the very core of our partnership with the Canal & River Trust. Trolleys recovered under this scheme will be refurbished at our trolley revival facility in Tibshelf, in line with our ongoing commitment to the environment”
