Originally Posted by Carol's Quilts

I always return it to the cart caddy at the regular stores, but many times I shop at Aldi's. They have a really neat system. The carts are kept outside the store, behind a railing, and each cart it connected to the one in front of it by a short chain. To release the chain and get your cart you insert a quarter into the chain mechanism on the cart handle and go do your shopping. When you are ready to return the cart, you just insert the "key" attached to the next cart's chain, and the quarter pops out and you're good to go. I think this is a great idea as there are never any loose carts in the parking lot, the carts are always neatly lined up in place ready for the next customer, and the store does not have to pay a clerk to gather up all the wayward carts in the lot. In the long run, I believe it saves the consumer a little money each time the carts are used. Maybe more stores should adopt this method.