UK retailer Asda has announced that it is testing a ‘trolley wash’ machine that sterilises all parts of shopping trolleys to ensure a safe shopping experience for customers.
The move is part of the retailer’s response to the challenges posed by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The machine coats shopping trolleys with an anti-microbial solution that eliminates 99.99% of all known bacteria, viruses and pollutants.
It dries up seconds and ensures that the handles, rails and child seats in the trolley are thoroughly sterilised.
The machine, located at the store in Morley in Leeds, operates on electricity and uses a water-less technology to spray electrostatically charged mist on trolleys.
'A Priority'
Senior manager of store services at Asda, Graeme Wightman, added, “As the first UK retailer to trial a permanent ‘trolley wash’ at Asda Morley, we continue to make shopping safely a priority for customers, building upon hygiene measures already introduced like the provision of hand sanitiser for customers in our stores.”
The ‘trolley wash’ device has been developed by the WasteCare Group - a UK-based company.
A single tank of anti-microbial solution can sanitise up to 20,000 trolleys and the process takes around 10 to 15 seconds, the retailer said.
Chairman of the WasteCare Group, Peter Hunt, said, “We are pleased that the unit is now installed and in use at Asda Morley.
“It has been developed to support retailers in taking the next step to help customers shop safely. It’s great to see a retailer such as Asda leading the pack and trialling new and innovative solutions.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
