The announcement last week that the city is implementing a $100,000 pilot program to collect abandoned shopping carts marks the culmination of a year and a half of discussions among city leaders, grocers and other stakeholders on how best to address a sensitive issue with direct ties to homelessness.
The first city official to address the problem publicly was outgoing City Councilor Jayme Fowler, who proposed in March 2023 holding retailers financially responsible for the cost the city incurs to retrieve the carts.
“Why should the burden be put on the city,” Fowler said at the time. “Why should the burden be put on the taxpayers to take care of these carts?”
People are also reading…
In the ensuing months, public and private meetings including city staff, representatives from Reasor’s, the Oklahoma Retailers Association and social service providers were held to look for solutions.
Reasor’s provided a tour of its local stores to Fowler and fellow Councilor Chris Bengel in August 2023 and the grocer was invited to discuss the issue with councilors at a committee meeting the next month.
In October 2023, Reasor’s sponsored a “Shopping Cart Theft Stakeholder” luncheon hosted by the Tulsa Regional Chamber.
Invited participants included a representative of the Mayor’s Office, Reasor’s and Warehouse Market. Also invited were city staff, Fowler, and Oklahoma Retailers Association and Oklahoma Grocers Association officials, according to the meeting notice.
Fowler said last week that he reached out to Reasor’s in the early summer of 2023 at the behest of Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal with the hope of crafting an ordinance that held retailers responsible for keeping shopping carts off the streets and on store premises.
Fowler said he was surprised to hear about the city’s pilot program and disappointed that Tulsans would be footing the bill rather than retailers. According to the city, the pilot program is being paid for by the Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy using fees residents pay for the city’s trash service.
“I’m a member of the chamber and I believe in the chamber, but this agreement is not amenable to the city of Tulsa or its citizens,” Fowler said. “The number of homeless campers around our city have continued to multiply. Not only have the downtown merchants been harmed but all Tulsa citizens have been harmed.
“When you think about your shopping, choose merchants who really care about Tulsa, your tax dollars and quality of life.”
The Tulsa Regional Chamber said in a statement that it acted as a convener on the abandoned shopping cart problem about a year ago, “but it hasn’t had any recent conversations with members on this topic.”
Reasor’s said it was asked by the City Council to advise on Fowler’s proposed shopping cart ordinance and ultimately helped the city connect with Shopping Cart Repo in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to provide the retrieval service in Tulsa. Reasor’s itself does not use the service in Albuquerque.
“Reasor’s is committed to supporting the communities we serve, and we believe this program is a practical and effective solution to address the current situation,” the company said in a statement. “We’re proud to collaborate on initiatives that help keep our neighborhoods clean and safe for everyone.”
Under the terms of the cart retrieval program, which begins Monday, Shopping Cart Repo is authorized to collect any abandoned cart but is “strictly prohibited from attempting to retrieve carts from individuals in possession of them.”
Any personal items found in a shopping cart, including identifying documents and prescription medications, will be retrieved by Housing Solutions, the lead agency for the city’s continuum of care for the homeless.
Shopping Cart Repo will provide quarterly reports to the city on the number of carts collected, where the carts were retrieved, the condition of the cart, the type of cart and the store it originated from.
What remains unclear is how the pilot program will affect a plan discussed by the Tulsa Police Department to issue citations to individuals in possession of shopping carts that are not theirs.
The Tulsa World is where your story lives.
The Tulsa World newsroom is committed to covering this community with curiosity, tenacity and depth. Our passion for telling the story of Tulsa remains unwavering. Because your story is our story. Thank you to our subscribers who support local journalism. Join them with limited-time offers at tulsaworld.com/story.
