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San Jose pilot retrieved hundreds of abandoned shopping carts; city studies a permanent program
Summary
A three-month pilot collected roughly 734 abandoned carts across two pilot areas. Staff outlined startup and annual cost estimates, state limits on fee recovery and next steps including retailer outreach and a potential RFP for permanent retrieval service.
City staff on Dec. 16 presented results of an abandoned shopping-cart retrieval pilot that ran from Aug. 14 to Nov. 14 across two pilot areas. The pilot collected approximately 734 carts (about 202 in Area 1 and 532 in Area 2), with the highest counts linked to a small set of retailers.
Rachel Roberts (code enforcement) told the council the top retailers associated with retrieved carts included Costco, Whole Foods, Walmart and Safeway. Staff reported vendor ride-alongs helped improve collection efficiency and found a two-person team worked best in the field. The pilot cost was absorbed with salary savings and vendor costs estimated at about $32,000 for the short test; staff estimated continuing the pilot for a full year would cost about $128,000.
For a permanent, citywide program staff estimated startup costs around $686,000 (including roughly $563,000 in vendor costs and $123,000 for a new analyst). Under recently enacted state law staff noted constraints: a required 48-hour notice before carts may be retrieved, a cap on recoverable fees of $100 per cart, and limitations on recovering fees for inaccessible carts. Staff estimated up to $1.2 million in potential annual cost-recovery revenue at prior retrieval rates but cautioned recent ordinance changes and the new state law could reduce recoverable amounts.
Council discussion emphasized engaging the largest retailers proactively to invest in cart-management measures and noted budgetary constraints in coming years. Council accepted the staff report unanimously and asked staff to follow up with retailers and return with procurement and budget proposals, if directed by the budget process.
Why it matters: Abandoned carts are a recurring quality-of-life and environmental issue; the pilot provides data on retailer impacts, operational costs and policy levers for cost recovery and prevention.
What's next: Staff will survey retailers in the pilot areas, refine cost estimates, and — if funding is approved — issue an RFP to procure retrieval services and consider ordinance amendments to align local rules with the new state law.
