Time is up for free single-use plastic bags at Woolworths stores around the country.

Shoppers will now get stuck paying 15c for a plastic bag or $1 for a canvas bag if they forget to bring their own.

It’s hoped charging for plastic bags will help combat some 8-million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans every year.

Co-founder and CEO of Take 3 For the Sea Tim Silverwood is welcoming the ban and tells Ben Fordham animals are too-often paying the price for our negligence.

“They’re really dangerous. These plastic bags, when they get into the environment, they last a really long time.

“They look like jellyfish so turtles and dolphins and whales are eating them in high numbers and are unfortunately dying as a result of our single-use plastic bags.”

QUT Business School Associate Professor Gary Mortimer says “it’s a great step in the right direction… but it’s a complex matter”.

“The biggest challenge I think shoppers will face is remembering to bring their bags.”

As for whether it’s a money generating scheme by the supermarkets, Professor Mortimer says “I’m not really seeing that”.

Woolworths has introduced the ‘Bag for Good’ costing 99c, with proceeds to go towards Landcare initiatives.

Click PLAY below to hear to the full conversation