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CHAPTER 31
OFFENSES – MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 31-40. POSSESSION AND IDENTIFICATION OF SHOPPING CARTS.

(a) In this section, SHOPPING CART means any device or conveyance provided by a retail establishment for use by its customers for the transport of merchandise from the retail establishment. The term does not include a motor vehicle as defined in the Texas Transportation Code.

(b) A person commits an offense if he possesses a shopping cart at a location other than the premises of the retail establishment that owns the shopping cart.

(c) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) that the person was an owner, employee, or agent of the retail establishment that owns the shopping cart and was delivering, retrieving, or returning the shopping cart to the retail establishment.

(d) A retail establishment that owns a shopping cart shall affix to the shopping cart a durable, all-weather, and legible decal identifying the name, address, and telephone number of the retail establishment. The decal must also state the following in legible letters:

IT IS AN OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY A FINE OF UP TO $500 TO POSSESS THIS SHOPPING CART AT A LOCATION OTHER THAN ON THE PREMISES OF THE RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT THAT OWNS THIS SHOPPING CART.

(e) A shopping cart recovered by the city of Dallas will be returned to the owner, as determined by the decal affixed to the shopping cart, upon payment to the city of a recovery fee of $25. (Ord. 25439)

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.