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The supermarket stopped selling the plastic shopping bags in supermarket stores in Western Australia in July last year, and introduced the measure in stores in the Northern Territory, ACT, Queensland and South Australia earlier this year.

From this week, plastic bags will be phased out in the rest of Woolworths stores across Australia (until existing stock is exhausted), with paper bags bearing the supermarket's brand becoming the new main option.

However, the paper bags cost $0.20, which is $0.05 more than plastic bags. For those who buy large quantities or often forget to bring shopping bags, the price difference can add to the cost of shopping.

Woolworths store director Jeanette Fenske said that when Woolworths became the first supermarket in Australia to introduce reusable bags in 2018, customers had begun to accept the idea of switching from disposable bags to reusable bags.

The goal, she said, is for customers to use the same paper or cloth bag every time they shop. She said: "Bringing your own shopping bags is the best option for the environment and we encourage customers to continue this good habit. Paper bags will continue to be provided for those who forget to bring their own shopping bags, but ultimately we hope to reduce the number of shopping bag sales .”

According to reports, Woolworths' paper bags are reusable, can hold up to 6kg of groceries, are made from 70 per cent recycled paper and are themselves recyclable.

"We are proud to be the first major supermarket to commit to removing these plastic shopping bags from our stores and this change is an important step towards more sustainable grocery shopping across the country," Fenske said.

Woolworths rival Coles has yet to announce plans to remove reusable shopping bags, which are reportedly made from recycled ocean plastic.

Coles said: "We offer our customers recyclable paper bags made from 100% recycled paper. We also sell reusable shopping bags made from 80% recycled plastic.

"To further reduce the use of plastic bags, we are implementing a new initiative in some stores called 'Swap-a-box' where customers can opt for a reusable box when picking up their Click & Collect orders."