As The Grocer first reported on Saturday, this week sees the launch of a new app aimed at ridding the UK’s canals, parks and housing estates of the scourge of abandoned trolleys.

The Trolleywise app will also help reunite the retailers with their long-lost hardware.

In an age when there is a new app being launched on a daily basis it is sometimes difficult to judge which are the most interesting or noteworthy. This is not just a problem for us hacks trying to decide what to write about but also for consumers deciding whether or not an app is worth downloading in the first place.

In the case of Trolleywise there is little doubt that it is newsworthy, especially considering the fact that around one million trolleys will go walkies from supermarket car parks over the course of a year – a truly staggering number given there are around two million trolleys in use in the UK at any given time.

The free app allows members of the public who spot an abandoned trolley peeking out of a canal or hanging from a tree to take a picture of it, which will be relayed – along with its location – to Trolleywise, which can dispatch one of its 47 nationwide collection teams to pick it up.

The idea and the system is clearly a good one – the only question that lingers in my mind is: will it work?

The reason for my concern is that it relies on a fair amount of engagement from the general public. First they have to care or be sufficiently moved by the issue to download the app, then they have to have actually come across an abandoned trolley, before taking the picture and sending it on.

I genuinely hope I am wrong – but the cynic in me worries this is too much to ask of an apathetic general public.

For every trolley collected, trolley manufacturer Wanzl, which set up Trolleywise, will make a donation to independent charity Trees for Cities. It hopes to raise enough money to plant at least 2,000 new trees in Britain’s urban areas each year.

This will certainly appeal to the dedicated eco-warriors out there but may not be enough to convince Joe Public.

The campaign is funded by the retailers but as yet details are scarce as to what they will be doing to drive awareness. This has to be the key to its success or failure: they need to find a meaningful way to incentivise their customers into action or else supermarket trolleys will remain a major blot on the landscape for years to come.

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