BUFFALO, N.Y. — Questions and comments keep pouring into 2 On Your Side about New York state's ban on carryout plastic bags.
That ban officially goes into effect in March.
But Wegmans is getting out ahead of it and will remove plastic bags from its stores statewide on Monday.
We continue to get literally hundreds of comments about the plastic bag ban, and a lot of people are coming to 2 On your Side with questions about what the state is trying to accomplish here and what Wegmans is up to as well.
Specifically with Wegmans, one person asked us will there be plastic bags at the self-checkout?
The answer to that is no. They're all going to be removed, and the registers that you see at the front of the store will be remodeled to support paper bags and reusable bags.
Another question we've gotten is on the 5-cent fee on paper bags and whether a portion of that goes to the state and the other portion goes to Wegmans. The entire fee will be collected by Wegmans, then donated to local food banks.
And yet another question we've received on social media: Will there be plastic bags to buy or just paper?
Again, this is a removal of plastic bags. There will only be paper bags that can be bought as well as reusable bags.
Another question we got: Will there be a fee on plastic bags?
Another question we got: What about the Wegmans Instacart service? So, no longer will plastic bags be given, paper will be used instead, and the fee for paper bags will be waived.
One of the most common questions we've gotten has to do with bags for deli meat, frozen vegetables, and from the pharmacy and whether those are exempt and they are. In fact, the Department of Environmental Conservation on its website has a list of bags that are still okay.
And finally, what about people who are on food stamps and have a SNAP benefit card, and will the five cent fee for paper bags be covered?
The answer to that from Wegmans is no, because food stamps only takes care of food items you would have to pay out of pocket for paper bags.