Stray shopping carts have caused the city to look into an proposed bylaw that would place the cost of recovering the carts on retailers. CBC

City staff will investigate a proposed bylaw that would result in rogue shopping carts costing retailers more than taxpayers.

Coun. Tim Tierney, who represents Beacon Hill-Cyrville, is speaking out against abandoned shopping carts. He said they are a major eyesore throughout the city, including along Montreal Road in his ward.

Right now, city crews are dispatched to round the carts up when they are left on city property and the costs for that work are not recovered.

Tierney wants to change that by adopting a by-law already used in Mississauga, Ont., which places a cost on retailers when they recover the carts.

The city's transportation committee directed staff Wednesday to further study the proposed bylaw and report back in 2012.

"Somebody has to pay to get those back. If it's not the retailer, should it be the taxpayer? I don't think so," said Tierney.

The plan would still involve city crews collecting the stray carts, but now they would store them at the nearest city depot.

Retailers would then face a cost to reclaim the cart or be charged a disposal fee. In other words, Ottawa would feature a shopping cart impound lot.

"I think that's going to put the onus on the retailer to think about the collection of these carts," Tierney added.

Coin-operated carts or magnetic barriers are the ultimate goal, Tierney believes. He also suggested students could be hired to roam nearby streets to corral the carts.

He does not want police to be responsible for capturing cart thieves.