Wegmans says its customers can provide some extra help to the environment this month. It has to do with how many plastic garbage bags get recycled.
Wegmans officials say that last year in April, their customers recycled 177,000 pounds of plastic bags. This year, they want to improve on that, and they have a plan to contribute at least $10,000 dollars to the Nature Conservancy. That's a worldwide environmental organization which also has a local chapter. It works to protect lands and water for nature and people.
Wegmans has pledged to contribute 50-cents to the Conservancy for every additional pound of bags collect above what was elected last year, with a minimum contribution of $10,000. Each of Wegmans 83 stores has bins near the entrance where you can put in clean plastic bags.
A Wegmans official says that sustainability is a company-wide priority for the supermarket chain. Wegmans says each of its stores now uses on average, 4,000 fewer plastic carry out bags per day compared with 2007. That's the year that Wegmans began offering reusable bags and also began reformulating its plastic bags.
