Committee approves shopping cart resolution that would fine companies, residents who remove them

MILWAUKEE -- Alderwoman Chantia Lewis said in a statement Friday, Jan. 26 the Milwaukee Common Council's Public Safety Committee Thursday approved her "shopping cart resolution."

It now heads to the full Common Council for a vote on Feb. 6.

According to a release from Alderwoman Lewis, the resolution would fine owners and residents who remove, or allow for the removal of shopping carts on the premises. Fines would start at $50 a cart with a maximum penalty of up to $250 a year, depending on the number of carts retrieved.

If a company takes active measures to retrieve their own carts, they may not be fined.

The resolution also requires that companies providing 25 carts or more have anti-theft measures after 100 retrievals of abandoned carts by the Department of Public Works.

According to Alderwoman Lewis, a Common Council study found that abandoned shopping carts were creating blight in neighborhoods, reducing property values and obstructing pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and creating a health, safety and general welfare issue for the city.