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(c) Procedure for handling lost or abandoned shopping carts found on public property.
(1) The code enforcement officer or an employee of the city finding a lost or abandoned shopping cart on public property shall notify the maintenance supervisor and request the removal of a lost or abandoned shopping cart by the city.
(2) The maintenance supervisor, or maintenance supervisor’s, designee, shall remove said shopping cart from the right-of-way to be stored at a city facility.
(3) The city, at its discretion, may dispose of an abandoned shopping cart.
(4) The city shall retain custody of a lost shopping cart for 90 days and shall post notice at city hall of its recovery for not less than two consecutive weeks during the first 45 days of this time period.
(5) If the rightful owner of a lost shopping cart makes a claim for the shopping cart, it shall be turned over to the rightful owner upon the payment to the city of $25.00 for the city’s recovery and storage costs.
(6) If the rightful owner does not pay such cost and reclaim the shopping cart within 90 days of its recovery, the city may, at its discretion, dispose of the lost shopping cart.
(Ord. No. 03-29, § 1, 5-6-2003)

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.