I cannot believe the amount of people who have the audacity to use a shopping cart to haul their purchases home. Blocks and blocks away, shopping carts are spotted, no where near the stores that OWN them. This is STEALING, plain and simple. The cart does not belong to you and you took it; doubtful that you will return it, and even if you do, it's still theft. I cannot walk into a store and take a stroller, use it to walk my kid home and then bring it back, I would be arrested for shoplifting. Same concept....how on earth do people justify stealing the carts? If you need a cart because you don't have a vehicle or cannot carry your purchases home, then buy one. Can't afford one? Sorry, you still can't just steal one, just as I can't steal a car because I can't afford it. And the response, "Well, I am not going to keep it", doesn't make it right either, because a car or bicycle thief could say the same; "I just needed a ride".
I used to work for an apartment building and there was a room in the parking structure that had probably 150 carts from various store that people had helped themselves to; at $300 per cart, that's $45,000! Think about it!