How can I reuse or recycle abandoned shopping trolleys/carts?

My boyfriend John came up with an idea yesterday. We were just finishing up lunch when he said:

Darling beloved girlfriend of mine, have you featured old shopping trolleys on your terrifically awesome site Recycle This? Because there are currently three we’ll have to get rid of – the one half-buried in grass in the woodland next to our house and the two further down the stream in the woods proper (where all the rubbish collects at the bottom of a big hill and which we’re going to tidy up this summer). Your wonderful readers must be able to come up with some ideas for them and now, I’m going to make you a giant milkshake because I think you’re so great.

(I paraphrase slightly.)

Since they’re metal ones, they could just be scrapped but you know me, I’m much more about reuse than recycle.

By my guess, all the trolleys have been in their current place of residence for at least a couple of years so it’ll be both a pain to get them back to their original homes. I think they still technically belong to them, so if it’s obvious where they’re from, we might call to see if they’ll deal with it – but they’re not in a condition to be reused there – they’d probably just send them for scrap.

Any ideas?

(CCSA photo by de:benutzer:aeggy)

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12 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle abandoned shopping trolleys/carts?”


  1. anna says:

    Make some furniture out of them.

  2. Bobbie says:

    Send one to me. I can use it to bring my groceries in the house as it is a long way from car to fridge :)

  3. megan says:

    make these sweet bike trailers!!

    http://www.tonystrailers.com/buildyourown/

  4. Turn it into a portable garden. Line with plastic bin bags, half fill with broken up pieces of styrofoam, add soil on top and plant. Move it around to catch the sun.

    If you have the talent, Makezine has a video on turning a shopping trolley into a chair:
    http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/maker_workshop_shopping_cart_chair.html

  5. Cipollina says:

    Somebody with welding knowledge would have a field day with a shopping trolley.

    I saw someone who had made an armchair out of one. No welding, only bending. It had heavy cushions and looked really comfy. I think it was on everydaytrash.com, or maybe it was one of these fancy design sites…?

    It could also be transformed into storage space – like a chest or a table with storage space underneath, maybe. Great for all those soft toys in a children’s room, for instance. There they’d be out of the way but still in full sight.

  6. joss says:

    My sister had one left in her backyard and she used it to grow vines up one side. I guess you could then put potplants in the middle.

    Another idea would be to cut the front out, upturn it and grow raspberries (or similar) over it – the cut out front would allow for ease of access.

  7. Alice says:

    Wow I LOVE those bike trailers! I think I’ll ask my local bike shop to look at making one for me.

  8. Emily says:

    Use it as a mobile hanging basket! Line it and fill it with compost! You could also hang pots from the sides.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Make a go cart

  10. Elise says:

    Cut off wheels and handles (optional)
    Fill with rocks
    Place in any eroding areas of woodlands
    Or use as garden dividers or decor
    Plant native creepers between rocks
    👌



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