Wegmans removing single-use plastic grocery bags from 6 remaining Virginia stores

LEESBURG, Va. - Wegmans is removing single-use plastic grocery bags from its six remaining Virginia stores.

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Beginning Friday, July 1, stores in Leesburg, Dulles, Potomac, Lake Manassas, Virginia Beach, and Charlottesville will no longer supply plastic bags. The company’s four North Carolina stores will also eliminate plastic grocery bags the same day.

The company announced in April their plan to end plastic bag use by the end of 2022. Paper grocery bags will be available for a 5-cent charge, but Wegmans officials say the goal is to shift customers to reusable bags.

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Company officials say the reusable bag and paper bag approach has worked well with other Virginia stores in Fairfax County and in Richmond. In stores where the company has already eliminated plastic bags -- paper bags are used for 20 to 25 percent of transactions on average -- while the remaining 75 to 80 percent use reusable bags, or no bag at all.

Wegmans will continue to eliminating single-use plastic bags at its remaining 27 stores in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts over the course of the year.