THURROCK Council is set to initiate the process to formally adopt powers to charge owners of abandoned shopping trollies for their collection from public land.
If the scheme goes forward following a consultation with shops and other stakeholders it will mean that the council can start charging owners for the cost of collecting, storing and returning or disposing of trollies which have been dumped in roads, parks or on other public land in the borough.
Leader of Thurrock Council, Cllr Rob Gledhill, said: “We routinely collect over 400 discarded shopping trollies a month and it is not right that Council Tax payers end up footing the bill for that activity.
“Under this scheme we would be able to charge owners for the costs associated with removing and storing their trolley and they have the option of taking the trolley back or paying for us to properly dispose of it.
“Abandoned shopping trollies are a potentially dangerous eyesore and this scheme will help encourage shops to make sure that their trollies are returned or face the costs of clearing them up if they are dumped.”
Consultation will now take place with local retailers that provide trollies for customers, residents, retail industry representative bodies, Police and the Environment Agency as the council initiates the process to adopt the relevant powers under the Environment Protection Act 1990.
If adopted the council will also look to set up a scheme with shops to have their trollies returned to them for a set fee for each trolley.
