Shopping trolleys are Boyne hazard

OVER 30 fines have been handed out to local supermarkets whose trolleys ended up in the Boyne.

‘If we identify the owners of these trolleys we actively go after them. There is an onus on them and people who take them off the premises and discard them. Unfortunately other people then come along and they end up in the river,’ Director of Services Paddy Donnelly told councillors at last week’s municipal meeting.

Cllr Paul Bell said he had tried to resolve the issue in the past under the Litter Act and asked for incremental fines for repeat offenders. ‘ There used to be someone employed to collect them. Now they are left all over the place,’ he stated. ‘It seems supermarkets are happy to take the hit but the industry says they are expensive items.’

Cllr Kenneth Flood raised the matter after seeing the Boyne Fishermen clear the river of trolleys recently. ‘It was just three months worth but I think it was a year or two,’ he exclaimed. ‘I think we should write to the supermarkets to say their trolleys should not end up in the Boyne. Take action if they don’t reply.’

Never mind fish, people will be catching trolleys next, Cllr Frank Godfrey added, who said such dumping was a hazard for volunteers like the Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue group.