Woolworths made the move to ban single use plastic bags this week, while Coles will take an identical route on July 1.

Woolworths, which implemented the change on Wednesday, said the move was to reduce the impact on the environment.

On its website, Woolworths said the move would remove more than 3.2 billion single-use plastic bags from its stores.

“It’s a commitment that we made after listening to our customers and our teams, and from 20 June, an important step we’re taking towards a greener future,” Woolworths said.

On its website, Coles confirmed the July 1, 2018 date, saying the company will no longer provide free lightweight single-use plastic carry bags in its stores in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Western Australia.

“We are encouraging customers to bring their own reusable bags when shopping, and have a range of reusable bags available for purchase starting at 15c for customers who don’t bring a bag from home,” Coles said.

It continued by saying the retailer has “committed to phasing out single-use plastic carry bags by 1 July 2018 across all our stores because we believe it is the right thing to do for the environment”.

Bernardi’s IGA made the move to ban single use plastic bags six weeks ago, and checkout manager David Jackson said feedback from customers had been amazing.

“Most customers are very happy we’ve taken the step,” Mr Jackson said.

He said six weeks in, it’s now a habit for people to bring in their bags and reuse them, and people were more than happy to do it.

“It’s gone really well,” he said. “For the main part, people have been really positive about the move.”

Bernardi’s co-CEO Joe Bernardi said he was thrilled to be taking another step to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and had been overwhelmed with the support from customers.