2008 Earth Day event ...

11 shopping carts where found along the shoreline below East Point Park.

below East Point Park beach area..

shopping carts litter the shoreline of Lake Ontario below East Point Park.

Markham to crack down on roaming grocery carts

Congratulation to the Town of Markham to the new bylaw.

Markham to crack down on roaming grocery carts

Last Updated: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 9:13 AM ET
CBC News
The town of Markham, Ont., has a new bylaw aimed at getting tough on store owners who don't take measures to keep shopping carts on their own property.
Peter Veiga, supervisor of waste management operations, says it's common to spot half a dozen carts during a 30-minute drive.
"People can trip on them, people can drive into them, maintenance vehicles, plows can hit them, so it's quite a hazard to public safety, and so we want to see them off the roads," said Veiga, adding "and they don't look nice in the community."
The bylaw was passed in early March, so road crews have been collecting them since then, but for now they're not enforcing any penalty, just returning them to the stores.
Under the new bylaw, "Markham now requires all shopping carts to have clear and permanent ownership signs," said a news release on the municipality's website.
From now on, instead of destroying the anonymous carts, "the required signs will enable carts to be returned, rather than having them litter public property."
Stores will have six months to put in place a system that makes sure their carts stay on their property.
Starting in September, every cart road crews find on local streets will be returned to its owner, along with a $50 fine.

dumped in the snow...

At Lawrence and Midland
in Scarborough

City of Missisauga one step ahead of the City of Toronto

Shopping cart courtesy of the local Walmart store..




When will the City of Toronto follow the City of Mississauga
and have their own SHOPPING CART BY-LAW ??




THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF MISSISSAUGA
SHOPPING CART BY-LAW NUMBER 368-94
(Amended by By-law 473-95)

Shopping Cart By-Law

The purpose of the Shopping Cart By-law is to prohibit the removal of grocery carts from any store property, or to abandon them on public property, including parks and creeks, or on any private property.

It is an offence under the By-law for any person to deposit any shopping cart on any private property without the permission of the owner.

It is also an offence under the By-law for any person to deposit any shopping cart on any premises owned by the City of Mississauga, including any park or recreation area, any watercourse, or any boulevard.

For business owners, it is an offence to allow shopping carts to be taken from their business premises. Business owners who are or have experienced problems with illegal shopping cart removal are encouraged to take steps to secure the carts against removal from the business premises and/or utilize a shopping cart retrieval service.

Abandoned shopping carts may be collected by City of Mississauga staff, and be subject to either a retrieval fee or disposal.

The maximum fine for failing to comply with the Shopping Cart By-law is $5,000.

This information is for convenience and quick reference only.
For specific information or to register a complaint, contact the By-law Enforcement office at (905) 896-5655.

a success story at our local Dominion store..

Today I spoke with Kirk Spears, manager at our local Dominion grocery store on Markham and Kingston Road. I asked him about the new shopping cart system which prohibits the removal of shopping carts from his store.
Kirk told me that he is satisfied with the new security system and he is loosing not many carts anymore.
Hopefully other stores will implement the same security features very soon.

Shopping cart theft at our local grocery store

This Dominion Store located at Markham Road lost 30 - 40 shopping carts a week through theft. Many of their carts can be found at a later time discarded in our parks, streets and shoreline.
Dominion has now installed a shopping cart system which combines a
digitally-encoded radio frequency locking signal, embedded perimeter antenna,
and self-braking wheels to prevent shopping carts to be removed from their property.

You Tube video - removing a shopping cart from the beach

2007 TD Shoreline Cleanup in Guildwood

we found more discarded shopping carts along the shoreline of Lake Ontario - an uphill battle..

Exhibit at Toronto Free Gallery www.torontofreegallery.org ..abused shopping carts

picture from Martin H. Reis http://tino.ca/

Lake Ontario source of our drinking water

Millions of people depend on the Great Lakes drinking water.
The Great Lakes region is home to approximately 33.5 million people, a majority of whom depend on one of the five Great Lakes for drinking water.
The region has been subjected to decades of pollution, threatening the integrity of the Lakes and the purity of the water for consumption.

Mayor Miller said May 2005:
I can tell you plainly and simply what I want for Toronto's piece of the Great Lake System:

I want people to be able to go swimming at all the beaches and parks that line Toronto's 46 kilometres of shoreline.
I want to take my children fishing, and let them catch their supper in Toronto Harbour.
I want Torontonians to be able to dip a cup into Lake Ontario and take a drink.

Is Mayor Miller dreaming?? Yes, he is..

near Spadina in Toronto

lovely waterfront decorated with shopping carts

photos by Martin H. Reis

left on the beach in Guildwood

let's see if we can remove the shopping cart during our shoreline cleanup in September.
For our cleanup: men with strong arms and muscles needed:-))

The End

one more...

The Moss Cart

Likely an art project.
Downtown Toronto

In the loading dock of Queen West’s newest.

thanks for posting the picture
source: shopping carts in the ravines..

If I drive across the city with a camera crew and filming all the discarded shopping carts in our rivers, parks, ponds, alley ways, playgrounds, beaches and ravines, it would take days to view all the pictures.
But the City of Toronto does not take any action.
The store owners claim, we collect all our the carts after the customer use them to deliver their groceries to their home.
Well, we all know, that is not true or the store owners can’t count.

free barbeque ...

FREE BBQ Grills. . .

check out the list of stores.

As everyone knows it's time to get ready for that all important cooking technique of the south---outdoor Grilling!

I have found several stores (not just in the south) where you can get a FREE Bar-B-Q Grill!
You can get a free BBQ grill from any of the following stores:

A&P
Albertsons
Costco
Dan'sFood
LionFry's
Kroger
Macey's
Big Lots
Brookshire's
Lowes
Publix
Safeway
Sam's Club
Target
Vons
Wagner
Hardware
Wal-Mart
Winn-Dixie

Don't forget the local stores: Dominion, NoFrills, Zellers, Value Mart, Sobey's and many more..

Just make sure to get a metal one...the Plastic one's don't do so well.

I especially like the higher rack - which can be used for keeping things warm!

Metal on Metal

at the beach Lake Ontario

stuck in the sand...

shopping carts thrown over the Scarborough Bluffs

Today, I found quite a number of shopping carts thrown over the Scarborough Bluffs in Guildwood . Besides six shopping carts are fridges, washer, sofa, children toys, computer parts and tires below the condominium townhouses on Livingston Rd.

The six shopping carts originate from valumart (?) in our Guildwood shopping plaza. The last picture shows a new valumart cart.

What do you think....

Question:

• What do you think when you see a stray shopping cart?
• Bottom line, I’m paying for that lost cart in my grocery prices,
  or those stray carts make the neighborhood look awful and are a danger to motorists.
  These are justified concerns.
  But, how can we address these concerns?
  Who is responsible for stray & stolen carts?
  The business or store owner?
  The City of Toronto?
  The resident who finds one in his yard or lot?
• Please leave your comments, thanks.

more carts found at the same location..

Friday, March 9, 2007

Morningside and Ling Road more stolen shopping carts waiting for City pickup.

The yellow carts belong to the local
nofrills store on Morningside and Kingston Road.
The same store who claims to have shopping carts with locking devices.
Well, the locking devices don't work.

now there are seven (7) shopping carts...

Date: March 5, 2007
Time: 12:54 p.m.
Location: Morningside Ave. and Ling Street
Just checked the same location again and found two more shopping carts.
Representing a value of about $1750 and nobody seems to care?
Hopefully, the City will send a truck to collect the carts, move them to a Loblaws property
in the Mississauga for further distribution.
In the meantime, adding to the air pollution and using up natural resources,
gasoline, engine oil and tires....

Sunday March 4, 2007 ..shop till you drop...

Shopping carts from local nofrills store, Walmart and Dominion Stores
found at Ling Street and Morningside Ave.

There are lot more dumped shopping carts to be found around residential buildings.

The abuse and theft of shopping carts costs us all.

When will the City of Toronto stop the abuse of shopping carts??

more carts dumped in the snow

Local Newspaper Support

....feasibility of creating a City by-law

Dino Eleuteri
Supervisor, Operations Co-ordination
Transportation Services
Road Operations District 3


Dear Mr. Eleuteri

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my letter on January 13th, 2007 concerning the abuse of shopping carts in our City.

Abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance, create potential hazards to the health and safety of the public, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic within the City of Toronto, not to mention the budgetary burden on the city to eventually finance clean-up.
The accumulation of wrecked, dismantled and abandoned shopping carts on public
or private property also tends to create conditions
that reduce property values and promote blight and deterioration in the City.
Lower property values also have a negative effect on the city’s tax base.

This problem exists all across Toronto, and is not restricted to specific locations.

Numerous shopping carts can be found in secluded areas such as city parks
and the Scarborough Bluffs, around dumpsters and behind apartment complexes as well.

Store owners should be strongly encouraged to take measures to prevent the removal of shopping carts from store premises.

May I suggest the following measures:

The management of every store that uses shopping carts should be requested to develop and implement a specific plan to prevent customers from removing carts from the business premises. This plan should include the following elements:
(a) Notices to Customers
· Written notification should be provided to customers that removal of carts from the premises and parking lots is a violation of law and violators may be prosecuted. This notice can be provided in the form of flyers, warnings on shopping bags, or any other form of written notification that will effectively notify customers.
(b) Signs
· Signs should be placed in pertinent places near door exits and near parking lot exits to warn customers that cart removal is no allowed and constitutes a violation of law.

(c) Physical and Other Measures
· Specific physical measures should be considered and implemented to prevent cart removal from the business premises. These measures may include, but should not be limited to:
o attaching disabling devices on carts
o posting of security guards to deter and stop persons who attempt to remove carts from the business premises
o installation of chains or invisible fences around the business premises to prevent cart removal
o security deposit requirements for use of all carts
o the rental of carts that can be temporarily or permanently used for transport of purchases and returned within 24 hours.

I am asking our Mayor Miller and the City Councillors of Toronto to consider my suggestions and the feasibility of creating a City by-law to ensure that shopping carts are kept on‑site.

Sincerely

Gisela H. Bach
Toronto, Ontario

stealing a $250 shopping cart from a store

Should there be a difference between stealing

a chocolate bar worth 75 cents and stealing a $250 shopping cart from a store?

There seems to be a difference, because shopping carts can be seen everywhere in our City of Toronto.

• The question is : WHY?
• WHY are store owners letting customers steal their shopping carts?

Shoplifting is a common or street term which usually refers to the offence of theft under the value of $5,000.

It means taking something out of a store without paying for it.

What are the penalties for customers who are convicted of theft as a summary offence?

A person convicted of theft under $5,000 as a summary offence

can be fined up to $2,000 or imprisoned for up to six months or both.

Along Bloor Street

Keele & Wilson

stuck in snow ...

this one is from Zellers

Clean City Beautiful City

January 24, 2007 I wrote an e-mail to our Mayor Miller of the City of Toronto
including City councillors Paul Ainslie and Glenn deBaeremaeker
--------------------
From the City of Toronto Website:
"A clean and beautiful city reflects the pride and engagement of the people who live there.
This is a two way street - urban beauty fosters civic pride,
and civic pride helps residents stay engaged and look after their city."


Dear Mayor Miller!
I love our City and will do my best to keep our City clean, but I need your help with my new initiative.
Please take a look around in our neighbourhoods,
here you will find stolen shopping carts in our streets, parks, ravines and beaches.
It is time to stop the theft and abuse of shopping carts in Toronto .
I have started a new blog concerning shopping cart abuse in Toronto.
The new blog can be found under:http://abandonedshoppingcarts.blogspot.com/
Please support my new initiative.Thank you.
Gisela Bach
http://guildwood.blogspot.com/

-------------------
(Logo from the City of Toronto website)

Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA

Here is another example,
how the City of Toronto could draft a bylaw concering stolen shopping carts.

From Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA

Shopping Carts
On January 27, 2005, the Board of County Commissioners
adopted Ordinance 05-20 requiring warning notices regarding
the removal of shopping carts to be affixed to shopping carts
and posted on signs in parking areas.
What are the notice requirements for shopping carts?
The following notice shall be affixed to all shopping carts
and shall be clearly legible in English, Spanish and Creole

WARNING

Any person who removes a shopping cart from the premises of the owner,
or is in the possession of any shopping cart,
shall be presumed to be in possession of stolen property
and is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree,
punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to one (1) year
as provided by Sections 506.509 and 506.513 of the Florida Statutes.
Who is responsible for complying with the shopping cart notice requirements?
Every retail sales establishment that utilizes shopping carts
in the operation of its business.
Shopping cart is defined by Section 506.502(10), Florida Statutes,
as a “basket mounted on wheels or a similar device
which is generally used in a reta