A SCHEME to tackle the problem of supermarket trolleys being dumped in canals and rivers across the country is being piloted in Cheshire.

The Canal and River Trust has teamed up with Trolleywise, a national organisation set up to retrieve abandoned trolleys, to trial the scheme in the trust's Manchester and Pennine region, which includes the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Trust staff, volunteers and members of the public can now report dumped trolleys in the waterways via a free downloadable app or by contacting Trolleywise direct.

More than 600 incidents of supermarket shopping trolleys dumped in canals and rivers have been reported nationally over the past five years and more than 1.5 million shopping trolleys are taken from supermarkets each year.

Trolleywise has a fleet of more than 50 vehicles with dedicated trained staff out in the field recovering them and returning them to their rightful owners.

Karen Jackson, the Canal and River Trust's senior environmental scientist, said: "Abandoned trolleys aren’t just unsightly, they damage boat propellers and cost us thousands of pounds every year which we would be better spent conserving our waterways."

Once an abandoned trolley has been reported, Trolleywise will remove it and recover the cost from the supermarket.

Karen said: "This frees our own staff to continue their important daily jobs of looking after the waterway network and keeping them free from pollution and other obstructions.”

If the trial is successful it will be rolled out across the country.

Stewart Turner, field operations manager for Trolleywise, said: “Canals and rivers across the UK have become a constant problem for dumped trolleys and with our combined efforts we can start to reduce the environmental hazard trolleys present.

“Returning the nation’s waterways to a clean and litter free area is at the very core of our partnership with the Canal and River Trust."

For more information visit trolleywise.co.uk.