Dozens of shopping carts are stuck in the mud of the Colma Creek marsh along the San Francisco Bay Trail in South San Francisco, startling walkers and birdwatchers who frequent the popular route. At low tide, the metal frames jut out along the marsh edge, a jarring sight in a spot restoration groups say is supposed to be reserved for birds and native plants, not wayward wheels.
Trail Users Are Baffled
Regulars on the trail told ABC7 they were stunned when they rounded the bend and saw a small fleet of carts clogging the mouth of the creek. Kim Avalos told the station she had never seen anything like it and called the sheer number “extreme.” As reported by ABC7, the carts stretch across the mouth of Colma Creek at low tide, prompting locals to speculate whether the mess came from pranks, thefts or simple abandonment. The station also quoted Josh Quigley of Save The Bay, calling it the greatest concentration of carts he has seen in one place.
Save The Bay Urges Cleanup
Save The Bay, the nonprofit that has led shoreline protection and restoration efforts since the early 1960s, says that even localized pockets of junk can do outsized damage to marsh habitat. According to Save The Bay, the group organizes volunteer cleanups and restoration projects around the Bay and also pushes for policy changes aimed at reducing pollution along the shoreline.
Retailer And Regulators Respond
ABC7 reported that the South San Francisco Costco Business Center, located roughly a mile away, told the station it walks the trail and checks for stray carts multiple times a week as part of its local maintenance routine. The same ABC7 piece says the station reached out to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to investigate the situation and coordinate a marsh cleanup.
Why The Marsh Matters
Colma Creek is part of ongoing restoration and adaptation planning to expand tidal marsh and improve habitat connectivity in the Central Bay, and debris in the intertidal zone can undermine those efforts. Project records from the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and mapping databases such as EcoAtlas list Colma Creek as one of the sites targeted for marsh restoration and Bay Trail access, which is why local organizations are pushing to get the carts pulled out as quickly as possible.
