"Bringing reusable bags to the supermarket is a powerful part of sustainable grocery shopping. At Wegmans, the grocery chain has been encouraging customers to hone their practice. Wegmans has been leading the push to eliminate single-use plastic waste on the grocery front, an eco-pioneer wielding a sort of reverse-incentive strategy. It offers paper bags, and (trust us) you want to avoid using them."
"For shoppers who don't bring a reusable bag with them, paper bags are available for a 5 cent charge. The small-but-mighty incentive proved powerful to sway customer opinions (or at least their habits). According to an official press release by the company in September 2022, "In stores where Wegmans 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.""
"Unlike the famously-sturdy paper bags from Trader Joe's, Wegmans' paper bags don't have handles. If you're picking up more than a few things, it makes for a supremely awkward carry. In a Reddit thread dedicated to Wegmans' plastic bag ban, the top comment (with over 200 upvotes) writes, "If they would just use paper bags with ...handles it would be a lot better. Ah well." Bringing your own bags to Wegmans isn't just sustainable, it's also a lot more practical."
Wegmans phased out single-use plastic bags across its stores during 2022. Shoppers without reusable bags can purchase paper bags for a 5 cent fee; those paper bags lack handles. Stores that removed plastic report paper bags used in about 20-25% of transactions, while roughly 75-80% of transactions use reusable bags or no bag. The combination of a small fee and less-convenient paper-bag design shifted shopper behavior toward bringing their own bags. The initiative launched January 1, 2022 in Fredericksburg, Virginia and expanded to additional locations by April.
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