Found shopping carts may soon be piled next to the metal recycling at the landfill for businesses to pick up before they are recycled for good. (file photo)

By Susan McNeil

Shopping carts

Shopping carts of PA: city to update pickup policy

Feb 2, 2023 | 12:07 PM

Given the increased volume of abandoned shopping carts being found in Prince Albert, city staff told council they believe the existing policy is no longer reasonable to follow.

Sanitation manager Todd Olexon said things have changed since the last policy was passed in 2006, due to the volume of carts they collect.

“This process, if implemented today, would be time-consuming and costly, largely due to the large number of abandoned carts we’re experiencing today,” he said.

The policy is generally not followed by city staff. While some pick up carts that are not on a business’s property, many leave them because they do not know what to do.

Currently, carts should be collected by staff and taken to the Municipal Service Centre, tracked, and then letters sent out once two or more carts are collected.

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The city invoices the business $10 per cart before they are taken to the landfill if the business chooses not to pick them up.

With public discussion on the number of carts found in odd places around the city (often taken there by a member of the homeless population), the city is hoping to change things.

“The focus of this was to provide a direct and known procedure on what to do when you pick up a cart,” said Olexson.

The first step is for Olexon to go to other departments and talk to crews to make sure that everyone is aware of the new process.

“If we have or are running across carts in the parks, in the walkways or on the city street or in the roads of someone cleaning snow, we will then pick them up and they have a home and we know what to do with them,” said Olexson

When the policy was created in 2006, the city saw relatively few issues with carts being taken from businesses. That has since changed.

An increasing number of carts are being collected, but are often in bad shape and full of garbage. Staff has proposed a different solution, as a result.

“There was sometimes a reluctance to even pick them up, because- ‘am I taking someone’s cart?’” he said.

The Director of Public Works or his designee want to collect carts at their discretion and have them taken to the area next to the metal recycle pile at the landfill.

If retailers want their carts, they will have until the first business day of each month to do so before the carts are added to the metal pile for recycling.

No fee is being suggested as the process is simple and puts the onus on businesses to collect their own carts.

The changed procedure must be passed by a motion of council during a regular meeting before it becomes official.

Council was unanimous in their decision to send the new procedure to a future council meeting for decision.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com