The little UK town full of thousands of abandoned shopping trolleys

The sight of abandoned shopping trolleys strewn around UK towns and cities might not be that unusual for many of us who spot the odd one dumped in a roadside hedge or even a river.

But the phenomenon has taken an unusual twist in one town, where a trolley retrieval company once collected a staggering 3,570 abandoned trolleys in just one month.

Residents of the town of Cwmbran, and especially in two housing estates bordering a shopping centre seem, to consider it normal to leave their trolleys outside their homes. At these adjacent housing developments, flanked by an Aldi, Asda, and Morrisons, what local blogger Ben Black describes as a “quirk of Cwmbran” has emerged as locals shun the common practice of carrying shopping bags or loading them into cars, opting instead to wheel out entire trolleys. They navigate across streets and deposit them neatly at their doorsteps.

And on visiting the town it became clear that, while some trolleys do indeed end up forgotten in bushes and streams, or simply left curbside, many residents seem to have have staked claim to particular trolleys, making them part of their household essentials. These so-called personal trolleys accompany them back and forth to the shops.

Our photographer observed this peculiar habit firsthand, capturing the moment a local parked her trolley like one would a bicycle, tidily beside her home and ready for the next grocery run.

The issue of abandoned shopping trolleys has long plagued the town, with Newport-based trolley retrieval company Trolleywise reporting a staggering 3,570 trolleys collected in Cwmbran in just one month a decade ago, the majority from Asda, . Trolleywise commented: “Where abandoned trolleys are located on private property our team is unable to enter without expressed permission from the landowner or occupier, which I hope you will understand can pose a challenge in some circumstances.”

Asda has taken steps to tackle the nuisance after local resident Malcolm Austin’s plea for action in March 2023. The supermarket giant rolled out an innovative system that prevents its trolleys from crossing a red line around the store and car park by locking the wheels, rendering them immobile.

Despite recent images showing numerous Asda trolleys still being removed from the premises, Asda claims there has been a noticeable decrease in trolley thefts since implementing the new system. A spokesperson for Asda stated: “While we know that the majority of our customers take care of our trolleys, if anyone spots one where it shouldn’t be, they can let us know by calling 0800 0933 350 or by downloading the Collex App, so the trolley can be collected as soon as possible.”

Trolleywise industry estimates reveal that nearly one million shopping trolleys are abandoned each year in the UK, costing British businesses a staggering £35m annually. Scroll through the images below to witness the deserted trolleys littering the estates around Cwmbran shopping centre this month.