The City and County of Honolulu collects thousands of abandoned shopping carts across the island per year. The Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that would make it illegal to remove and possess a shopping cart outside of the business that owns it.
Sponsored by Chair Tommy Waters, Bill 53 would make it illegal for a person to possess or use a shopping cart outside of the business premises that the shopping cart belongs to. People who are found with shopping carts would be fined up to $2,000 and could be imprisoned for up to a month, and they would forfeit the shopping cart to the city.
In a statement accompanying the bill, Waters said that the possession and abandonment of shopping carts threatens the public’s health, safety and welfare.
The City and County of Honolulu Department of Facilities Maintenance collected 3,535 shopping carts in 2024 and 2,608 shopping carts in 2025, according to a DFM spokesperson. Most of the carts collected are typically not in usable condition, they said.
Waters wrote that shopping carts on sidewalks, in parks and at bus stops create unsafe conditions for the public, and shopping carts that obstruct waterways can lead to overflow.
“The city must be able to ensure the safety of members of the public when they are using sidewalks, roads and streets, bus stops, parks, waterways, and other public spaces and ensure the public’s ability to use these accommodations freely,” Waters stated.
The bill has not been scheduled for public hearing or a committee meeting yet.
Shopping carts cost from $500 to $650 and up to $1,000 each depending on where they are manufactured, shipping costs, the volume purchased, the type, size and construction, and if they have anti-theft locking devices, according to Retail Merchants of Hawaiʻi Interim President and CEO Dave Erdman.
“All of this increases the cost of our goods purchased at a retailer because the loss of these carts, being stolen, it adds to cost of a retailer’s business and adds to the prices we pay in a store,” Erdman said.
The bill garnered support from Honolulu Police Department, which said the bill will disincentivize people from stealing shopping carts and improve the beauty and safety of Oʻahu.
Honolulu Police Department Major Paul Okamoto of Waikīkī wrote to the council that abandoned shopping carts in public spaces are a sign of “urban blight” and “deterioration” in Hawaiʻi.
“Removing these carts from private property onto public property, exerting unauthorized control over the cart, appropriating it for your own use, and retaining it to deprive its owner of its use is theft,” Okamoto wrote. “This theft continues to occur because there is no consequence for taking or being in unlawful possession of them.”
In an email to ASD, Okamoto wrote that theft cases involving shopping carts produce certain challenges that make enforcement impractical — sometimes a store representative cannot be found in a reasonable amount of time that can provide a statement or identifying marks on the cart have been removed or damaged — so HPD is “exploring a legislative solution to more effectively deter the theft and unauthorized use of shopping carts.”
Trevor Abarzua, president and CEO of the Waikīkī Improvement Association, wrote in a letter to the council that shopping carts left in pedestrian-oriented districts like Waikīkī prevent the public from safety using an area and create hazards.
He stated that the bill “will provide the City with an important tool to address a longstanding problem, protect pedestrian access, support local businesses, reduce environmental hazards, and preserve the safety and usability of our public spaces.”
Lauren Zirbel, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Food Industry Association, wrote that the cost of replacing stolen shopping carts increase the cost of doing business in Hawaiʻi when retailers and customers are already dealing with high operation and food costs.
Waters wrote in an email to ASD on Thursday, “At a time when families are already struggling to afford everyday necessities like eggs, milk, and other groceries, Bill 53 is a commonsense step toward reducing avoidable cost increases, while helping keep neighborhoods across O‘ahu safe and accessible.”
Honolulu City Council, state Legislature considered alternative options
Former Councilmember Calvin Say introduced a similar bill in August 2023 that would ban people from using or leaving shopping carts on public property and would create a fine of $500 or imprisonment for up to a month. The bill was sent to two committees but never got a public hearing.
The Hawaiʻi Legislature attempted to address the same concerns in January through House Bill 1636, but the bill received opposition and did not move forward. HB1636 proposed that businesses mark each shopping cart with identifying information and would have authorized counties to return a shopping cart to a business in exchange for a $500 fine.
RMH opposed House Bill 1636. “House Bill 1636 proposed holding the retail businesses accountable for abandoned shopping carts by allowing counties to impound them and assess fees or fines of $500 or more. Bill 53 recognizes that the shopping cart is stolen, and not abandoned by the retailer,” Erdman said.
The City and County of Honolulu isn’t the first municipality to consider fining people who take shopping carts off a business’s property. Ogden, Utah made it a misdemeanor or a $50 fine if a person removes and is in possession of a shopping cart removed from a shopping area. People in Federal Way, Washington who push or use a shopping cart in a public right-of-way are fined $50. Arizona made it illegal to possess a shopping car away from a retailer’s premises, and Phoenix, Arizona ordered retailers to use locking wheel systems and charges $25 to $50 to return abandoned shopping carts.
Critics say the bill penalizes homelessness
Critics wrote that the bill would disproportionately impact Oʻahu’s homeless residents. Jonathan Huynh, an Oʻahu resident, wrote that the bill is a “grossly disproportionate and inhumane” approach to addressing the issue of shopping carts.
“This ordinance targets those who have no home, who use a simple cart to carry what little they own,” Huynh wrote. “It is a legislative weapon against the poor, disguised as a public safety measure.”
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
