General Assembly considers cracking down on abandoned shopping carts
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| This shopping cart ended up next to Arlington Boulevard in Seven Corners. |
The Virginia Senate passed a bill Jan. 27 to give
localities more authority to take action against abandoned shopping carts. The measure
now goes to the House of Delegates.
The bill (SB 631), introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell, would give Fairfax and Arlington counties the authority to pass an ordinance
making it unlawful to bring a shopping cart outside its
designated premises.
making it unlawful to bring a shopping cart outside its
designated premises.
Under
the bill, stores would be responsible for collecting their shopping carts. Any
shopping cart found outside a store’s property would be assumed to be
abandoned. The county would have the authority to remove it and charge
the store for the cost of removal and disposal.
The
bill would also allow counties to prohibit possession of a shopping cart
outside of the designated premises and charge a civil penalty of up to $500 to people
who take them.
bill would also allow counties to prohibit possession of a shopping cart
outside of the designated premises and charge a civil penalty of up to $500 to people
who take them.
Surovell
proposed the bill because of concerns that abandoned shopping carts end up in streams,
causing extensive environmental damage. Surovell represents the 36th District, which
includes parts of the Route 1 corridor in Fairfax County. Over the years, he pulled some 200 carts
out of Little Hunting Creek, one of the main waterways in that area.
proposed the bill because of concerns that abandoned shopping carts end up in streams,
causing extensive environmental damage. Surovell represents the 36th District, which
includes parts of the Route 1 corridor in Fairfax County. Over the years, he pulled some 200 carts
out of Little Hunting Creek, one of the main waterways in that area.
“These stores are
basically just neglecting to control their carts, and now they’ve become a
public nuisance,” Surovell told WTOP. “From my point of view, we have to
incentivize these businesses to take care of their property.”
basically just neglecting to control their carts, and now they’ve become a
public nuisance,” Surovell told WTOP. “From my point of view, we have to
incentivize these businesses to take care of their property.”
During the
deliberations in the General Assembly, the biggest opposition came from food
stores. If the measure is to become law, the House would need to pass it before
its March 8 deadline.
deliberations in the General Assembly, the biggest opposition came from food
stores. If the measure is to become law, the House would need to pass it before
its March 8 deadline.
While the Legislative Committee of
the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recommended the board support SB 631, it stated, “The county supports expanded local authority but has
concerns about its ability to implement this authority.”
the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recommended the board support SB 631, it stated, “The county supports expanded local authority but has
concerns about its ability to implement this authority.”
During the committee meeting,
several supervisors said they disagreed with the idea of imposing fines on homeless people
for having shopping carts. As Dalia Palchik (Providence) noted, that would penalize poverty.
several supervisors said they disagreed with the idea of imposing fines on homeless people
for having shopping carts. As Dalia Palchik (Providence) noted, that would penalize poverty.
LOL! Cracking down on shopping carts! Finally our county leadership is taking a stand against on the important issues!
It is important when stores like HMart allow customers to take their shopping carts home. Then they leave them in the parking lot of the Vistas of Annandale apartment complex, where children find them, and proceed to play with them and run them into cars. Or the wind catches them, and they run into cars.
Cartman needs to focus on the bigger picture. – Sparky
Good. This is a real problem and it should've been addressed a long time ago. – KB
I support better control of shopping carts. There are many carts scattered all around the Giant at Graham Park Plaza on any given day. It's a terrible eyesore.
I agree that random shopping carts outside of a stores' parking lot are a problem. What I DON'T agree with is charging the store for it! How is the store going to keep people from walking off the lot with their carts? Unless you want to pay extra for the security personnel to be onsite 24/7 to apprehend the folks who try to take them. The only way to keep the carts from leaving the premises is to stop us from being able to take them to our vehicles to unload our purchases. Perhaps we need to go back to the days where we had to pull our car up to the curb in front of the store to load our purchases into our cars? What a traffic jam THAT would be. Try and be realistic. Charging the store for people stealing their carts is ridiculous! They already have huge costs to replace the carts that have been stolen!
I agree. It's not like the stores allow the carts to be taken. I don't know what's happened to society when people just leave carts all over the parking lots,back behind the gym in Backlick Shoppong Center, etc. Sad story.
Aldi requires a quarter to be inserted in a lock attached to the handle of each shopping cart in order to release it. The quarter is released for return when the shopping cart is brought back. There are no Aldi stray carts. Problem solved.