Rescued: 14 Carts - Utah, United States

My neighbors made it relatively easy for me this morning. They'd collected all the carts around the front dumpster again, so I didn't have to do much hunting.

That black cart in the foreground of this first picture caused me some problems, though. It had been wedged between a concrete curb and the side of the dumpster, and it probably happened when the garbage collectors tried to slide the dumpster back into place. After a bit of a wrestling match, I did manage to wriggle the cart free.

On the way to the dollar store to drop off their two carts, I got a few dirty looks from some drivers (I have to push the carts on the edge of a short suburban street because I can't get them up onto the sidewalk for 100 yards or so) and picked up two more grocery store carts.

The manager of the dollar store was just arriving to set up her store for the day when I came by with two carts for her. She apparently recognized me from last time and thanked me. Then, in that parking lot, I collected two more grocery store carts that had been pushed up onto the decorative dividers and were smashing some of the plants.

This was my longest train of carts so far. I'm not employed in retail anymore, and I never had to do much cart wrangling anyway, so this was a big undertaking for me.

Lacking any specialty equipment, I use a rope as reins to steer these things.

This cart belonged to a pet store. It was left between a grocery store and a fast food restaurant about one-third of a mile away from the pet store. And someone (or several someones) decided that an abandoned cart should count as a trash can, too. I found soda bottles, a cigarette box, a burger wrapper, and some crumpled receipts. Well, better in the cart than on the ground, I suppose.

Behind the grocery store. They actually collect the carts that wind up in this little alcove, so I didn't rescue that one, but I had to take a picture of the scene as I began humming, "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just isn't the same." I'll let you readers decide: which of these three items (toilet, dumpster, shopping cart) doesn't fit with the others and why?

This was my last stop for the day. I've picked up carts here before, but at least they were a little more organized this time.

Sighted: 1 Cart - Utah, United States

A couple mornings ago, as I was taking out the trash, I saw a cart in the parking lot of my apartment complex. It was near the fence that separates the complex from the freeway. I didn't have time to do anything about it right then, but I planned to come back for it later.

The next day, the cart had disappeared, so I figured it had been moved by either the maintenance guys or some of the neighbors' kids (I've seen them playing in and with the abandoned carts from time to time). This morning, however, I found that it had suffered a worse fate. Someone had picked it up and heaved it over the fence.

That's a tall fence, and the cart is one of the largest and heaviest standard shopping carts I've encountered around here, so getting it over the fence would not have been a small feat.


Still, I can't see how anyone would think that imprisoning the cart like this was somehow a good thing. It's no longer an obstacle in the parking area, but what was a minor nuisance has been made into litter that is large, significantly wasteful, and difficult to remove.

I can't do anything about this cart. It's buried in weeds that would send me into allergic fits, and to get to it without climbing over the fence would involve walking down the side of a busy freeway. Perhaps the state Department of Transportation can do something about it when they do their maintenance or during the next round of road construction.


Now all I can do is reach my camera over the fence to document the tragedy. The doomed cart lies in the weeds, wheels dangling uselessly in the air, staring forlornly upward as it rusts in the rain.

Sighted: 1 Cart, Utah, United States

I wish I had a picture of this one.

I was walking home when I encountered an interesting sight. I saw one man walking down the sidewalk toward the apartment complex. He was pushing his friend in a wheelchair, who genuinely looked like he was unable to walk great distances. That would have been nothing out of the ordinary. But the friend in the wheelchair was pushing a shopping cart in front of him, which essentially meant that the man walking was pushing both the wheelchair and, indirectly, the cart as well. In the cart were two grocery bags, and neither of them looked more than half full.

I just want to know one thing: Why?

Rescued: 1 Cart - Utah, United States

Beck found this cart while on a field trip in the Salt Lake area earlier this year. Looks like he picked it up at a UTA station.

I can't tell what store it came from, but if Beck found it where I think he found it, it was certainly a long way from home.

Nothing wrong with putting the cart to work hauling backpacks before returning it to its store. And by the smiles in these pictures, I think it's safe to say that cart rescuing can even be fun.

Thanks, Beck!