LCPD: 60 shopping carts collected first day of initiative

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) – The Las Cruces Police Department collected 60 carts on Thursday, Oct. 10, in the first of two shopping cart collection days, the department announced in a news release.

LCPD said most of the shopping carts “relinquished” belonged to seven retail establishments. The ownership of three of the carts could not be determined.

The initiative is an opportunity for anyone who has possession of a shopping cart that belongs to a retail establishment to relinquish it without consequences, according to LCPD.

LCPD will accept the shopping carts, and no enforcement action will be taken during the initiative.

The department will then contact the businesses that own the carts so they can be retrieved, according to the news release.

On Oct. 10, LCPD collected shopping carts at two locations: the Community of Hope at 999 W. Amador Ave. and in the parking lot on the 2200 block of East Lohman Avenue.

LCPS said officers and Community Outreach personnel will conduct a second and final shopping cart collection initiative from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

“The Shopping Cart Collection Initiative is being held in advance of the Oct. 16, 2024, date when police begin enforcing the new Shopping Cart Ordinance that was adopted by City Council in August. LCPD chose to delay enforcement of the ordinance until Oct. 16 to allow for education of the new regulation and the return of carts that may be in the possession of individuals within the community,” read the news release.

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