PHOENIX — Phoenix stores that provide shopping carts to their customers must complete an annual certification to comply with the city’s new shopping cart ordinance.

The new ordinance, which will go into effect on Thursday, is being implemented to reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts in neighborhoods, sidewalks and other public spaces, according to a news release.

Retailers must complete a certification that confirms the store’s shopping carts follow these guidelines:

  • Have locking wheel systems to properly manage and retrieve shopping carts.
  • Implement a shopping cart management plan that prevents shopping carts from leaving the store, as well as a contract for cart retrieval services.

Stores must also provide additional details, including the number of carts they own, point of contact and billing information.

If any store fails to comply by the Thursday deadline, those with a retrieval contract will be subject to a $25 fee for every cart returned by the city. A $50 fee will be charged to stores that don’t have a contract.

Additional details can be found online.

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