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Chapter 130: SHOPPING CARTS

§ 130-1. Control of removal of carts from premises required; abandonment prohibited.
No merchant in the Township of Lower Merion shall by any act of omission or commission permit or in any way fail to control or restrict the removal from his premises of any shopping cart which may be made available by him to any customer; and no person shall abandon any shopping cart so provided upon any street or any other public place in this township.

§ 130-2. Identification disc required.
All merchants who shall make shopping carts available to their customers shall at all times have firmly affixed to such carts a metal, plastic or similarly suitable identification disc or plate which shall contain the name of the merchant and the address of the building in this township where such cart is regularly kept or stored. In the event that any such identification disc or plate on any shopping cart shall be removed or missing or be defaced so as to be illegible, the owner thereof shall at once remove the cart from availability for use by his customers until the cart has been properly identified as required herein.

§ 130-3. Carts found in public places deemed to have been abandoned.
Any shopping cart which is found by any police officer or other township employee upon any street, highway, sidewalk, shopping center or any other public place in this township shall be deemed to have been abandoned by the owner thereof.

§ 130-4. Violations and penalties. [Amended 9-21-1977 by Ord. No. 1802; 8-3-1988 by Ord. No. 3104]
Any merchant or person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to prosecution before any District Justice and, upon conviction thereof, shall pay a fine or penalty of not more than $600 to and for use by the Township of Lower Merion. Prosecution shall be instituted hereunder on complaint of a police officer or other township employee, and each shopping cart which is found to have been abandoned shall constitute a separate violation of the provisions hereof.

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.