By Thursday, Jan. 15, retailers that provide shopping carts to their customers are required to complete an annual shopping cart certification to comply with the city of Phoenix’s new shopping cart ordinance.

The new ordinance is designed to reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts in neighborhoods, along rights-of-way, sidewalks and public spaces to help reduce blight and public safety hazards.

Under the new ordinance, a completed shopping cart certification confirms that large retailers with shopping carts have:

• Locking wheel systems in place for cart management and retrieval.
• Or, have implemented an effective shopping cart management plan that prevents carts from leaving the store property, as well as a method to ensure timely retrieval, which must include a contract for cart retrieval services.

All retailers with shopping carts will need to provide detailed information to complete the certification, such as number of carts they own, a point of contact and billing information.

Failure to comply with the certification requirement and other ordinance provisions by Jan. 15 may result in enforcement actions.

Retailers can find full details about Phoenix’s new shopping cart ordinance and complete the annual certification online at phoenix.gov/shoppingcarts.

Residents can report abandoned shopping carts by calling 602-534-4444, by emailing shopping.carts.nsd@phoenix.gov or reporting online at myPHX311.

Editor's note: The above was republished from a city of Phoenix news release.