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720.12 SHOPPING CARTS

A. No person shall use a shopping or grocery cart to transport groceries, goods or other items in the public right of way unless that person is the owner of the shopping or grocery cart.

B. All shopping or grocery carts shall be identified in a prominent and conspicuous manner. The identification must include the name of the establishment wherein the carts are used or the owner thereof. (13008 §1 11/7/90)

C. All stores that provide shopping carts must take measures to prevent the removal of such carts from the area of the property under their control. The measures pursuant to this section shall be determined by regulation. All stores that provide shopping carts shall post a notice at all store exits pertaining to the prohibitions in Part A, and that violators are subject to a fine or citation should they leave the premises with a shopping cart.

(13833 §1 5/4/00; 14229 §1 11/18/04; (14480 §1 5/2/07)

D. Shopping carts that have been removed from their premises and left elsewhere on public or private property must be retrieved by their owners within twelve (12) hours of notification. (14480 §1 5/2/07)

E. Shopping carts not retrieved by their owner after the notification period may be declared abandoned and subject to confiscation and disposal by the City or by an authorized agent of the City.

(14480 §1 5/2/07)

About Shopping Cart Ordinances

Retailers can struggle to stop cart abandonment, often paying up to $15,000 a year on replacement carts and municipal fines and fees due imposed by communities. These cart regulations and laws are put in place to not only control the environmental impact of abandoned carts, but also to keep towns and cities clean.

Most shopping cart ordinances fall into three categories: The first category is regulations requiring retailers to have a plan to contain and collect errant shopping carts. Secondly, those that define the fines and penalties a city may impose on retailers for abandoned or errant shopping carts. Finally, the third category of rules generally requires retailers to have a system to contain shopping carts, preventing abandonment.