A new system at Cwmbran Asda aims to stop trolleys from being taken away and dumped across the town.
In 2014, the BBC named Cwmbran as a ‘shopping trolley blackspot’ and said more than 3,500 of them were collected in one month by Trolleywise, a recovery service used by many supermarkets.
I met store manager Gareth Jones and Cali Beale, customer trading manager, at the store to find out more about how they plan to play their part in making the town a cleaner place. They explained that when the new system is “turned on” over the next week it will mean that no Asda trollies will be able to cross a “red perimeter line” around the store and its car park.
Customers will be able to go anywhere in the Asda car park but the wheels on any trolley will “lock” and stop working if they are pushed over the lines that surround the store.
Gareth said: “We are bringing in a retention system to help with several reasons with trollies. We have spent a lot of money on trolleys in the last 18 months or so but there are still a lot of issues with them being taken out of the town centre.
“They are around the town a lot and lots of issues in terms of the canal and waterways. We can play our part and be a responsible retailer.
“That way it will be more environmentally friendly, they will still be able to go around the car park, and there will be better availability for all of our customers.” He said there were problems with trolleys being abandoned around the town, in nearby housing estates, and in bushes and parks.
He said officers at Torfaen Council were really pleased with their plan. The shop’s trolley porters will carry a device to unlock the wheels of any trolleys. During the early days of the new system, Asda staff will be in the foyer of the store to explain to customers leaving the store what will happen if they try to take their trolley over the “red perimeter line”.
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