San Jose rolls out stricter abandoned shopping cart rules for large retailers

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Abandoned shopping carts in San Jose cost the city time and money.

This month, the city is rolling out new programs to address the issue.

Large retailers with over 76 carts will now be required to invest in one of three prevention plans.

"That can be locking mechanisms. It could be a deposit system where you put money in a cart and get it back when you return it. It could be paying for fast, cost-effective retrieval services. If they are stolen, it could frankly be better security out in the parking lot," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

We spoke to a few shoppers about these theft prevention measures.

San Jose resident Sandy Smith uses a cart almost every time she does her shopping.

"For me personally, I don't really carry change, so if I had to put a quarter in, it would be hard for me to do that all the time. And I've already experienced a wheel lock, so I know you can only go a certain distance, but I understand why they need to do it," Smith said.

Steve Walpole said growing up in Santa Cruz he was used to many grocery stores that had wheel locks on their carts.

"I think it will just reduce the junk. Other than that, I think it's great," Walpole said.

At the state level, Senator Dave Cortese's bill to reduce abandoned shopping cart litter passed through a senate committee on Wednesday. Under this bill, cities would be able to return abandoned carts directly to retailers instead of impounding them.

The city would also be able to bill retailers for retrieving them, something the California Grocers Association is concerned about.

ABC7 spoke with Nate Rose, vice president of Communications and Public Affairs for the California Grocers Association.

"If someone stole your laptop, you know, and the police recover it, and then you go to the police station to pick that up after the fact, then you get hit with a bill for the police officer's time -- it probably wouldn't make it worthwhile to get that laptop back, right? So, that's a little how it feels for the grocers, where it's our property no matter the circumstance. It is a theft and to kind of come back around the other side and potentially get hit with a heavy bill for it is less than ideal, especially when grocery price is a huge issue across the whole state," Rose said.

Before officials roll out a cart retrieval service citywide, there will be pilot program in two abandoned cart hotspots.

The first area includes downtown. The second includes south San Jose. The pilot program will run from May to July before it's evaluated by city council in September.

The city says 2,000 carts are left every year on streets, parks and creeks.