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Twenty-one shopping trolleys were pulled out of the Sirhowy River last week after a frustrated councillor, fed-up with council ‘inaction’ on the matter, intervened.

Blackwood Independent councillor Nigel Dix contacted Ian Burton, Service Integration Manager at Wanzl UK, about the dumped trolleys and he agreed to remove them free of charge.

Wanzl UK produces and sells trolleys to supermarkets. It is also behind the Trolleywise scheme, which works with councils to retrieve dumped trolleys.

The Blackwood councillor has been calling on Caerphilly County Borough Council to take tougher action on trolley dumping since the issue was brought to his attention by a local litter picking group.

Cllr Dix said he was “concerned” with the amount of time it was taking the council to solve the issue of trolleys in the river.

He added: “What we need to make sure is that the river doesn’t get filled back up with trolleys.

“I am very grateful to Ian and his team for their offer of help.  I have asked the council to arrange a meeting with local supermarkets and their contractors who collect trollies, to put together a comprehensive plan that will ensure our rivers remain trolley free.”

Cllr Dix previously proposed that the council take tougher action on trolley dumping by adopting Section 99 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This would mean local authorities could remove abandoned trolleys from land and water, with the cost of the removal then being charged to the owners of the trolleys.

But, at a scrutiny committee meeting in June, councillors agreed on an amended motion that did not include the adoption of the act, but instead proposed to “ramp up” current services.