Shopping cart by-law now in effect
Friday, September 10, 2021
The City’s Shopping Cart By-law that outlines a comprehensive system for the regulation of shopping carts in the City of Sault Ste. Marie is now in effect.
As part of the
by-law, business owners who provide shopping carts to their customers are required to develop and file a plan with the City’s Director of Public Works and Engineering Services identifying which measures it will take to keep the carts on their property or to retrieve them. The plan must include details of the business owner’s operation and timeline of how carts shall be retrieved and returned to the business owner’s premises, a description of the owner’s carts including any easily identifiable features and the contact person and information for the business owner who will be called if carts are found off site.
“Effective immediately, businesses can be fined for having shopping carts left on sidewalks, boulevards and paths throughout our City,” said Susan Hamilton Beach, Director of Public Works and Engineering Services. “We recognize that business owners face great challenges in the collection of their carts and we will work with these businesses to provide practical controls and a system to assist in facilitating the pick-up of abandoned shopping carts.”
The By-law outlines various prohibitions for businesses including customers removing shopping carts from a business owner’s property. The By-law also provides enforcement tools in the event of non-compliance that includes written notice to the business owner to collect their cart and a fine of up to $5000.00 per day for non-compliance. If the business owner fails to comply, the City may collect and remove the cart at the owner’s expense.
The shopping cart By-law went into effect on September 7, 2021. Businesses must provide their plans to the City’s Director of Public Works at
pwt@cityssm.on.ca for review and approval. For more information visit
saultstemarie.ca/bylaws or phone 705-759-5201.