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.