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Sec. 19-13. Shopping carts on public ways.

(a) For the purpose of this section, the term “shopping cart” means a basket mounted on wheels or a similar device which is generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind.

(b) Whenever an officer, employee or agent of the city shall remove a shopping cart from a publicly dedicated street, sidewalk or alley and takes it into custody, the shopping cart may be claimed by the rightful owner of the shopping cart within five (5) days of removal.

(c) If the city notifies a retail establishment by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the adoption of this section, then any shopping cart owned by the establishment that is removed and taken into custody pursuant hereto may be disposed of in any manner if the shopping cart is not claimed by the rightful owner within five (5) days after removal. It shall not be necessary for the city to notify a retail establishment each time a shopping cart owned by it is removed pursuant hereto.
(Ord. No. 2001-32, § 1, 11-6-01

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.