Stores Could Face Fines For Abandoned Shopping Carts In This Oregon Town

Depending on where you live, it's pretty normal to see a stray shopping cart here and there, mostly within the parking lots of specific stores.

One Oregon town may start punishing stores that don't pick up their abandoned carts, according to KATU.

On July 6, the Pendleton City Council passed a new city ordinance requiring retail businesses to hang signs reminding customers to return their carts. If there's a stray cart hanging out away from the store, it can be reported to authorities.

According to Pendleton Police Chief Charles Byram, the store has 12 hours to pick up the cart before they're slapped with a fine ranging between $50 and $500.

"This ordinance is intended to give us some type of mechanism to compel these businesses that are not complying to with our requests to come pick up these carts to actually do so or they could face a fine," Chief Byram said.

The new law went into effect on July 6. Reporters said stores in Pendleton have until this week to start enforcing these cart return policies.