A new ordinance in Aberdeen would single out abandoned shopping carts as a public nuisance, and put more pressure on owners to return them to their stores. The Aberdeen City Council unanimously passed a first reading of the ordinance last Wednesday.

For years, shopping carts have been taken from stores and left throughout the city, and many have complained to city staff that it’s an eyesore. If the ordinance passes, the city would be allowed to impound shopping carts lying around.

The new ordinance says owners will be charged $30 to retrieve impounded shopping carts from the city’s maintenance yard. If the owner doesn’t retrieve the cart within 14 days of an impoundment notice, the city will dispose of it and require the owners to pay an additional $70 fee, the ordinance states.

In the past, city staff have gone around town collecting abandoned carts and returning them to the business, Parks Director Stacie Barnum said in an email. The carts are picked up on a weekly basis between the months of October and April, but the months switch to March through June in 2019, she added.

The ordinance also adds language stating that it’s unlawful for anyone to remove shopping carts from a store’s premises or abandon them in a public area.

Police haven’t gone out of their way to confront people who take shopping carts from stores, but Aberdeen Police Chief Steve Shumate said officers will start enforcing laws on people who steal them.

“We’re not turning a blind eye, and we have engaged some folks saying, ‘That’s not something you’re supposed to have in possession,’” said Shumate.

Shumate said most businesses already take time to collect abandoned shopping carts each week. But this ordinance would help motivate businesses that aren’t collecting them to do so, he said.

“Part of the ordinance is for businesses who choose not to (collect the carts), the city could tell that business if you don’t pick this up, you’ll be charged a certain amount of money,” Shumate said.

Community Development Director Lisa Scott wrote in a report to council that the city has hired extra staff over the years to police shopping carts that are taken and left around town, and that it’s been a “time consuming endeavor” to handle the issue.

Swanson’s Foods in South Aberdeen has about five to 10 shopping carts stolen each year, according to Assistant Manager Colt Hix. He added that their carts cost about $400 each, and that some that use more metal are probably more expensive.

There will be a second reading of the ordinance at the next council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 7:15.