Mayor of Pocomoke City addresses shopping cart issue
POCOMOKE CITY, Md. – Abandoned shopping carts in Pocomoke City have been a growing problem, and officials are trying to figure out how to push them back where they belong.
Blame the Businesses
When it comes to shopping, the average person puts their cart away or gives it to a worker. However, in Pocomoke, carts are popping up all over the city officials are saying it’s the businesses to blame.
Mayor of Pocomoke City Todd J. Nock is tired of seeing carts all over his community. He made a Facebook post on Monday night, expressing his frustration with businesses that let customers take shopping carts without any repercussions, and then early Wednesday morning his office received a ‘special delivery’. “We have investors, we have potential home buyers, potential residents coming to Pocomoke, and they’re seeing these carts. No one wants to see an issue like that.”
Mayor Nock says those without transportation or lodging are taking the carts, which is why he’s blaming the business. In October 2024, Mayor Nock proposed an ordinance that he felt would help mitigate the problem however it was shut down. Something he says needs to be re-examined.
“What my proposal was is that we find our business owners for the carts each time we have to return one, in hopes that they would come up with a viable solution to keep these carts on their property.”
Woes of the Workers
Nelson Chandler Jr. has been a cart pusher for Wal-Mart for the past 5 years, and although he doesn’t speak for the business as a whole, he can speak to the laziness he’s witnessed. “Sometimes they’ll see me, and they’ll just leave it in the middle of nowhere, and unfortunately, I got to go get it that what I get paid to do, but they could help me out a little bit.”
Chandler says they recently obtained carts with wheel locks, that would prevent them being taken out of the parking lot. He also has a bit of advice. “They’re on a bunch of new carts over there, but we don’t use them because honestly they’re too small, smaller than the carts we have now, so if we use them, it’d be double the work… I just feel like, each family should have one cart and bring it back. I don’t know why you just leaving your cart. Leave it at your house- you going to need it again anyway.”
Conscious Community
Frequent shopper Lawrence Ayers says take responsibility, no matter the circumstances. “Well, it’s just the right thing to do, you know? I don’t need the cart, that’s the place for the cart, and that’s where I put it… They [shoppers] should have that figured out before they come to Walmart to get what they need.”
And until some major changes are made- The mayor is begging the people of Pocomoke, to please, put it back. There actually is already a shopping cart ordinance in place in Pocomoke City. Mayor Nock says officials will keep trying to figure out how to find other solutions.
