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Wegmans will stop using plastic bags on Sept. 22 in its Pennsylvania stores

The move in Pennsylvania follows the elimination of plastic bags in the company’s New York stores ahead of a 2020 ban and the phase-out of them in Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey.

People practice social distancing while waiting in a line to enter a Wegmans grocery store in Dickson City, Pa., Thursday, April 23, 2020. (Christopher Dolan/The Times-Tribune via AP)
People practice social distancing while waiting in a line to enter a Wegmans grocery store in Dickson City, Pa., Thursday, April 23, 2020. (Christopher Dolan/The Times-Tribune via AP)Read moreChristopher Dolan / AP
    by Jennifer Sheehan, The Morning Call
    Published 

Wegmans grocery stores will stop using plastic bags starting Sept. 22 in its 18 Pennsylvania locations.

The move in Pennsylvania follows the elimination of plastic bags in the company’s New York stores ahead of a 2020 ban and the phase-out of them in Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. Philadelphia also bans single-use plastic bags.

Wegmans, based in Rochester, N.Y., operates stores in the Philadelphia suburbs in Collegeville, Concordville, Downingtown, King of Prussia, Malvern, Montgomeryville, and Warrington, in addition to New Jersey stores in Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.

The grocery chain said its goal is to eliminate single-use plastic bags at all stores by the end of this year. The company also operates in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.

Wegmans announced its plans to eliminate plastic earlier this year. The company will charge 5 cents per paper bag, the chain said in a news release, and will donate that money to each store’s local food bank and United Way. Wegmans said that in states with no plastic bags, customers in 75% to 80% of transactions use reusable bags or no bag at all.