Retailers big and small are facing fresh calls to ban single-use plastic bags as the major supermarkets prepare to make a permanent switch to re-usable bags.
Woolworths will no longer supply free disposable bags to shoppers from Wednesday, with Coles following suit on July 1 in an attempt to dramatically reduce the number of plastic bags in their stores.
German discount supermarket chain Aldi has never had free plastic bags in its Australian stores since launching in 2001.
Jon Dee, who co-founded the National Plastic Bag Campaign in 2002 and heads the DoSomething Foundation, hopes the move by the supermarket giants will inspire other retailers to switch to re-usable bags.
While many states have banned single-use plastic bags, Mr Dee says the federal government should legislate to ensure a nation-wide ban.
"Now you have the big three national supermarkets in sync on plastic bags, from the DoSomething Foundation's point of view it's time for all of Australia's other retailers to follow that example," he told AAP.
"So we are calling on Environment Minister Josh Frydenburg to step up to the plate and finally do something on a national basis about plastic bags and expand this ban that Woolies and Coles and Aldi have.
"There's no reason now why we can't have that fully across the country."
South Australia was the first state to ban single-use plastic bags in 2009, with the Northern Territory and ACT following two years later and Tasmania in 2013.
Queensland and Western Australia are introducing similar bans on July 1, while Victoria has said it plans to introduce one but is yet to set a date.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said her state doesn't need to introduce a ban because supermarkets are managing the issue.
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