Woolworths stores ditched the bags on Wednesday, with Coles and IGA set to follow suit at the end of the month.

“We know it may take some time for shoppers to form new habits, which is why we’ve been working hard to get the message out to local customers to remember to bring their own bags over the past few months,” Woolworths’ Lakeeta Ferguson said.

Any remaining Coles and Woolworths single-use plastic bags will be processed by RED Group’s REDcycle and manufacturer Replas into products such as fitness circuits, outdoor furniture, bollards and signage.

“What we’re trying to do with this change is encourage more customers to bring their own reusable bags when shopping, so we can prevent plastic bags from reaching our waterways and reduce the overall production of plastics,” Ms Ferguson said.

Some of the alternatives available include a 15 cent reusable bag made from “at least 80 per cent recycled plastic”, and a 99 cent option which can be replaced for free if damaged, and will help fund a Junior Landcare grants program.

Eden IGA’s Kerrie Chester said four alternatives will be offered at the store from June 30, and empty cardboard boxes are currently available.

Despite the single-use ban, a 2009 study revealed thicker multi-use plastic bags need to be used 104 times, or once a week for two years, in order to be considered a more environmentally friendly alternative.

Initiatives such as Tulgeen Disability Group’s Stitches and Prints social enterprise and Funhouse Studios’ Boomerang Bags have created locally made multiple use alternatives.

Tulgeen’s Lisa Miller Bradley said the cloth bags have been ordered online from as far away as Singapore and the United Kingdom.

“It’s good for them [enterprise staff] to be making bags, and learning about the whole supply chain, learning new skills and meeting new people,” she said.

The not-for-profit’s CEO Jen Russell said she is excited by the opportunity to collaborate with local businesses as the single-use ban expands.

“It is hugely beneficial to everybody,” she said.

In March, graphic images of four single-use plastic bags being pulled from the stomach of an emaciated tiger shark in Far South Coast waters added further weight towards a push for a blanket ban on the bags in Australia.

It has been estimated Australian waters hold around 40,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre, and by 2050 the world’s oceans will contain more plastic than fish.