Hotline targets dumped trolleys

EAGLE-EYED canal users are being urged to use a new hotline to report dumped supermarket trolleys in canals and rivers.

British Waterways is urging local residents to report the dumped items and expose environmentally irresponsible retailers.

More than 3,000 trolleys are retrieved each year from canals and rivers, at a cost of £150,000.

Information collected from the hotline will be used to recover the items, map hotspot areas and to identify the nation’s least and most environmentally responsible retailers.

Robin Evans, British Waterways chief executive, said: “While some retailers have taken real steps to clean up their act, there remains a problem with thousands of dumped trolleys.

“You would think that supermarkets have a vested interest in not losing their trolleys, but it seems they just write many of them off each year rather than actually tackling the issue.”

Anyone who spots a dumped trolley should call 01923-201 120.