One Ontario city says it will begin charging retailers $100 per shopping cart found abandoned on municipal property as the city looks to recover the costs associated with retrieving them.
The City of Brampton approved the measure during discussions related to the proposed 2026 budget in late February, directing staff to implement a user fee to offset staff time and resources used to collect carts left in public spaces.
According to a council motion, the fee will apply when shopping carts belonging to retailers are found abandoned on city property, like parks, waterways, transit stops and parking lots.
If staff determine the business has failed to properly manage them, it will be fined $100 for the city to recover the cart and bring it back to the establishment.
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The motion states the carts must be clearly identifiable as belonging to a retailer and that their abandonment must create hazardous conditions or pollution within the city for a business to receive a fine.
Council noted that the city has received an increasing number of complaints from residents about carts being left on municipal property and acknowledged that this has become a growing problem.
The motion further notes that abandoned carts can pose hazards for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, impede accessibility and create risks to public safety.
Officials also say the carts can pose risks to wildlife and contribute to environmental pollution.
According to the city, collecting and removing the carts requires a significant amount of staff time and municipal resources, resulting in additional costs for the municipality.
Under the new policy, the $100 fee will allow the city to recover costs associated with retrieving and managing carts.
During council discussions, members also discussed communication with Walmart regarding the issue.
Council noted that Walmart does not currently use GPS locking technology on its shopping carts in Brampton, according to meeting documents.
Staff were directed to report back in the first quarter of 2026 on whether Brampton should require retailers to install locking technology that would prevent shopping carts from leaving store property.
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The retailer is losing money from the theft of the carts,almost every so called homeless person has one. The cost to the retailers is around $1000.00 each, I have never seen a person be charged with theft of one, but I have seen the police take a person away and leave it for others to clean up.. Just saying…
Why not just phone bubbles
And the cost of this will work its way back to the consumer….
That’s one way of getting stores to stop putting names on the carts.
Of course it would be browntown