Bill would also authorize confiscation of shopping carts
The Honolulu City Council is considering a bill introduced by Council Chair Tommy Waters that would make it illegal to use shopping carts outside store premises, with penalties of up to $2,000 in fines or 30 days in jail. Bill 53 would also authorize confiscation of the carts.
Waters, the bill’s introducer, said the measure is needed to curb shopping cart theft and abandonment. The bill, as drafted, would apply to anyone using a shopping cart outside store premises.
In Honolulu’s Iwilei neighborhood on a recent afternoon, an older man pushed a battered Costco shopping cart across the street, according to a Honolulu Civil Beat report. The wheel kept catching on gravel, and each snag forced him to adjust his stride into an awkward side limp. The cart held Campbell’s aluminum food cans, a dirty blanket, and an aging manila folder.
Asked what the cart meant to him, the man glanced down at it and told the reporter: “It’s almost like my walker. It helps keep me upright.”
Under Bill 53, that man’s possession of the cart outside store premises could expose him to fines of up to $2,000 or up to 30 days in jail. His cart could also be confiscated.