Australia initiates plastic bag program

MELBOURNE, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Officials in the Australian state of Victoria have initiated an environmental program meant to reduce the use of plastic bags.

The environmentally friendly trial run, set to be ushered in by Victorian Environment Minister Gavin Jennings, was passed last week, The Australian reported.

The trial run will last four weeks and involves charging a 10-cent levy on plastic bags used at supermarket chains such as Safeway and Coles, the newspaper said in its Sunday edition.

Data regarding consumers' response to the new charges will also be collected and disseminated.

The final data will then be used to create a final plan to minimizing plastic bag usage in Victoria, The Australian said.