When it comes to abandoned shopping carts, there are a few things you need to know. One of the most important things is to find the best company in your area. This can help to ensure you get the best price possible and it can also save you the hassle of having to call up multiple companies to try and get the job done.
WHITE PLAINS
It’s not often that you’ll find an official municipal golf course on your doorstep, let alone a well-stocked supermarket and a plethora of restaurants and shops. As one of the more affluent suburbs of New York City, it’s no wonder that there is so much affluence to be had. A tastful influx of affluent residents has meant a spike in the number of hipsters. This coupled with the aforementioned urban amenities prompted some to take the helm and re-position the city. While the task of re-positioning has been a drag, the town has been re-energised. One of the more noteworthy affluent residents is a fellow in the know who has a flurry of high-browed aficionados. The other notable is a former affluent teen who’s got a new fancy lady who’s aplenty.
Image by Al Gг from Pixabay
NFM Cart Rescue
The NFM (Northwest Grocery Association) has developed a clever solution to a vexing problem. Not only can stray shopping carts be a hazard to pedestrians, they can also be a source of nuisance and blight. To counter the problem, NFM has come up with the NFM Cart Rescue program, which is aimed at reducing the incidence of abandoned carts through the use of high-tech tools and a dedicated staff.
To start, the oh so clever program calls for retailers to be tasked with identifying and removing stray shopping carts from their premises. These carts are then brought to the FresGO maintenance yard, where they are crushed and disposed of.
In addition to the usual suspects, the program has also enlisted the aid of community volunteers to retrieve carts from public spaces. This isn’t a problem confined to the suburbs; local neighborhoods in the city of Seattle, for example, have seen an increase in the number of wayward carts, which are littering their streets and parks. Thankfully, some of the strays can be retrieved by simply calling a number.
Although the company claims to pick up over a dozen stray carts each month, the number is a bit misleading. Indeed, the company only manages to remove around a quarter of a million carts each year. Nevertheless, this is a good start. They’re on the lookout for more.
Kitsap County
If you live in Kitsap County, you’ve likely seen abandoned shopping carts on the sidewalk. These wheels can often be a nuisance. They can get twisted up in the street and are a hassle for shoppers.
One solution is to get them back to stores. Target has hired a vendor to pick them up and send them back. The company says they’ve recovered more than 300 carts so far. However, there are still a few Target locations with a serious cart theft problem.
Another option is to take the carts to a metal recycler. There is a fee of $62 per cart. This doesn’t include the cost of transportation.
The city of Federal Way is considering a new approach to this issue. In the past, the police department and other volunteers have picked up a few thousand carts a year. Now the city is considering ways to remove the carts in a way that’s environmentally friendly and also profitable.
David Zumwalt, who was homeless in a shopping cart camp, started a program in his community called Stand Up Federal Way. He’s a former addict who has turned his life around. Initially, he volunteered to help the police department. But later he became a drug abuse recovery counselor.
The Northwest Grocery Association is lobbying to have the shopping cart retrieval program expanded to Washington State. As part of the effort, the company will label carts with special QR codes. People can report abandoned carts using the QR code and a phone number.
Glendale
The Glendale Shopping Cart Containment Ordinance has had a dramatic effect on the number of abandoned shopping carts. This ordinance has been designed to control and remove this clutter from our city.
Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash
It does so by requiring businesses to have containment systems on their premises. They may do this by contracting with a third-party professional cart retrieval service. In some locations, this service is performed twice a day.
Aside from its legal requirements, the Glendale Shopping Cart Containment Ordinance also educates our community about shopping carts. These educational programs are usually financed by local government. Despite the ubiquity of these carts, some businesses still fail to contract for a full seven-day retrieval service.
The City of Glendale is among the many cities in California that have to work within their state’s rules in order to address abandoned carts. The California State Shopping Cart Law limits cities’ ability to abate issues such as blight, health hazards, and liability. Fortunately, the state’s new law has opened up opportunities for municipalities to tackle this scourge.
To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at the most effective way of implementing the state’s new legislation. Specifically, the most important point is the definition of “land use.” The new legislation defines shopping carts as land uses, thus expanding the city’s scope and allowing it to implement a number of new solutions to this issue.
Fresno
The City of Fresno, California has a policy to remove abandoned shopping carts from the homeless. It is called Order 3.8.12. During clean-ups, the City will contact retailers and have them pick up carts that have been abandoned. They will also have city code enforcement workers clear abandoned shopping carts from the homeless.
There are a number of organizations that conduct clean-ups in the City. One organization is the Catholic Worker. Their volunteer work includes cleaning up in downtown. Another is a volunteer group led by a pastor, Reverend Harris. His group of volunteers include youth and adults. He has a special interest in clean-ups for the homeless, especially in the downtown area.
On June 2006, a notice was posted in front of the Poverello House on E Street. This notice warned the homeless that their property would be picked up and discarded.
Several people came to the Poverello House that day to complain about the clean-up. One woman, Marcia Apper, walked out of the Poverello House to see what would happen. She was surprised when she found that most of her belongings were thrown into a trash can. In addition, she was shocked that a person could be fined for sleeping in a cart.
A Fresno Police officer then confiscated several shopping carts. She tried to pull them away but was held by the officer. Her belongings were destroyed, including her photo album. These actions were done without the owner’s consent or legal authority.
Renton
The city of Renton, Washington, is working to rid its streets of abandoned shopping carts. These dangerous and often abandoned carts are a public hazard and interfere with vehicular traffic. In addition, they create conditions of blight in the community.
The ordinance passed by the city council is aimed at promoting public safety. It will require businesses to have a written Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval Plan. This plan will identify how to prevent carts from being stolen, and will outline procedures for removing and disposing of carts when requested.
Businesses that fail to keep their carts on their property may be fined. The ordinance also requires stores to have signs posted to notify customers that taking their cart is illegal. If the store fails to retrieve the cart within 14 days of receiving a notice, it will be destroyed.
The ordinance aims to encourage stores to pick up their abandoned carts. Some have used electronic devices to tag their carts. Others have stopped using them entirely.
City staff has been working with retail establishments to pick up and dispose of the carts. The city will also increase its enforcement of code compliance complaints.
Abandoned shopping carts are not only a public hazard, but they can also be hazardous to the environment. If you see a cart that has not been claimed within 14 days, you should contact the store to report it.
