Giant Eagle prepares shoppers at Pittsburgh stores for city's plastic bag ban in October

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Giant Eagle is preparing shoppers at its Pittsburgh stores for the city's plastic bag ban scheduled to go into effect next month. 

Starting Thursday, the company said its 14 Giant Eagle, Market District and GetGo locations will have signs to educate customers about the upcoming legislation. 

Customers will be able to buy reusable bags, starting at 99 cents, and paper bags will still be available for purchase in accordance with the city's legislation, Giant Eagle said. Customers paying with forms of government-funded food purchase assistance are exempt from the paper bag fee. 

City council approved the ban last April and it was supposed to go into effect in a year but was pushed back to Oct. 14. 

The city said the legislation prohibits all retail establishments from providing a single-use plastic bag or non-recycled paper bag to a customer at checkout or through delivery. 

Retailers aren't required to provide any bags at all, according to the city, though paper bags can be bought if they have "a minimum of 40% post-consumer recycled content and no old growth fiber." 

The city said it's allowing businesses to "draw down" their plastic bag inventory until Jan. 1 without being fined. 

Giant Eagle said it already began removing single-use plastic bags from some stores in 2019, including supermarkets in Erie, Cuyahoga County and central Ohio as well as all GetGo locations.

"We believe that shopping with reusable bags is an important way to support cleaner communities," said Giant Eagle director of sustainability, Cara Mercil, in a news release. "Our stores are preparing to support the City of Pittsburgh's upcoming legislation and recognize how important it is that our customers take steps to be prepared as well."  

KDKA-TV caught up with Giant Eagle shoppers at the Market District at Waterworks Mall. Some said they already use reusable bags. 

"It's good and they've been talking about it for a while now and I'm expecting that to happen," May Gray said. 

The full list of locations implementing the plastic bag ban can be found below.