San Jose has long struggled with an epidemic of abandoned shopping carts littering its streets, parks, and waterways, recovering around 2,000 carts annually. Frustrated by outdated state laws that limited their ability to efficiently manage and recover costs for these carts, city officials, including Mayor Matt Mahan, supported a new state law, SB 753, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. This law modernizes regulations by allowing local governments to return carts directly to retailers, increasing penalties for non-compliance, and reducing bureaucratic delays, thereby helping cities keep public spaces cleaner and safer.

In addition to the new state law, San Jose has implemented stricter local rules requiring retailers with larger cart inventories to adopt theft prevention measures or enter retrieval contracts. While some retailers have criticized these measures for potentially raising grocery prices, city officials emphasize the environmental and community benefits. Groups like the South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition actively remove carts from waterways, highlighting the ongoing problem. Overall, SB 753 and local ordinances aim to empower cities to address abandoned shopping carts more effectively, improving public safety and environmental health.