COURT HOUSE – Middle Township has been trying to convince large retail establishments to take steps to stop the removal of shopping carts from their property for several years.
Carts seem to end up piled near bus stops, left abandoned in neighborhoods, and even find their way onto roadways where they are a safety hazard.
Public Works employees take time from essential services to collect the carts, which require storage by the hundreds at municipal sites.
The municipality acted May 17, when Middle Township Committee adopted an ordinance requiring businesses that maintain 15 or more shopping carts for customer use to develop a containment plan.
The plan must include the use of one of five physical containment systems outlined in the ordinance. The municipality will allow businesses to suggest an alternative containment system, which must be approved by the municipality.
Fines and penalties in the ordinance are intended to motivate business owners to remedy the cart containment problem. Municipal officials said the measure is not intended as a revenue generator.
The ordinance goes into effect immediately after it is advertised.
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