VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Wegmans is set to eliminate plastic bags at the remaining stores in Virginia and all North Carolina stores.
Beginning Friday, July 1, Wegmans will remove single-use plastic grocery bags from its six remaining Virginia stores, including in Virginia Beach and all four North Carolina stores. This move comes after the company announced in April to eliminate plastic grocery bags company-wide by the end of 2022.
Paper grocery bags will continue to be available for a 5-cent charge per bag.
The company wants to shift customers to reusable bags for the environment.
The amount collected from the paper-bag charge will be donated to each store’s local food bank.
According to Wegmans, incentivizing the use of reusable bags by charging five cents per paper bag is an approach that has proven successful in Richmond and Fairfax County. They say in stores where the company has already eliminated plastic bags, on average, paper bags are used for 20-25% of transactions, while the remaining 75-80% use reusable bags or no bag at all.
Throughout the remainder of the year, Wegmans will continue to eliminate plastic bags at its remaining 27 stores in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
Related: Some want stores to charge 5 cents for plastic bags in Virginia Beach
