Abandoning a shopping trolley could land you with a £100 fine in some parts of the North East, as a clampdown on the "nuisance" has been extended. 

Taking a shopping trolley off a retailer's land might result in a fixed penalty notice in more parts of Sunderland from the end of August after residents raised concerns. 

Sunderland City Council first introduced a crackdown to tackle the "blight of abandoned shopping trolleys" in certain parts of Washington in 2021, under its Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

Since the rollout, the council has issued 23 fixed penalty notices and prosecuted three people for the shopping cart offence. 

After being given the go-ahead to extend these powers citywide in its 2024 PSPO renewal, the City Council is now introducing PSPO trolley restrictions, identical to those already in place in Washington, at:

  • Morrisons Seaburn, Whitburn Rd, Seaburn, Sunderland SR6 8AA
  • Asda Grangetown,  Industrial Estate, Leechmere Rd, Sunderland SR2 9TT
  • Tesco & Sunderland Retail Park Newcastle Road, Roker, Sunderland SR6 0DA
  • LIDL, Roker Ave, Roker, Sunderland SR6 0BN

Signs to raise awareness of the new powers coming into force will be put up in the coming weeks. Sunderland City Council has said they will begin enforcing the measures from the end of August.

Councillor Lindsey Leonard, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Net Zero at Sunderland City Council, said: "We know what a nuisance abandoned shopping trolleys can be for our communities. They often end up being abandoned at the side of the road where they can be a real danger to motorists and pedestrians.

We've also seen trolleys dumped in children's play areas where they could lead to children being injured and in green spaces where they can be a danger to wildlife.

"So after taking enforcement action against a number of people for taking trolleys off retailers land in Washington in the last three years, we are now expanding the scheme to more parts of the city.

"I'd also urge anyone who comes across an abandoned trolley to report it to either the retailer, the trolley collection service Trolleywise, or in the case of Asda shopping trolleys to Collex, so that it can be collected."

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: "We know that trolley abandonment is an important concern for our customers and so we're pleased to be working with Sunderland City Council to tackle this issue in the local area. We believe the initiative will have a positive impact and are looking at how we can roll this out further to support more local communities."

Anyone who finds an abandoned trolley can report it by: 

  • Reporting it to the retailer direct
  • Reporting it to Trolleywise online.

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Trolleywise currently collects from the following retailers:

  • Tesco
  • Sainsbury's
  • Morrisons
  • Iceland
  • Lidl
  • B&Q
  • M and S
  • Home Bargains
  • Dunelm