Steve & Linda’s Supa IGA owner Stephen Condon was impressed by the response to the trial that, until yesterday, had customers pay 10 cents a plastic bag.

“There’s been a reduction in use of 80 per cent,” he said.

“There’s been no grief or anything (from shoppers), everyone has been quite happy to bring their green bags along or pay the levy.

“I think it’s a fantastic result that we have achieved.”

Wangaratta was among a handful of locations across the state chosen for the four-week Victorian Government trial that ended yesterday.

Mr Condon said before the trial shoppers took home up to 6500 plastic bags a week.

That figure had dropped by 5200, to about 1300 a week during the past month.

But it was up to the Government to decide if a levy would become permanent.

Mr Condon hoped the environmentally friendly trial would have a lasting effect on shoppers, who were not too keen on the idea at first.

“I don’t know how we will go when it goes back to normal and they can use plastic bags for free again,” he said.

“Initially they were wondering why poor old Wangaratta had to do the trial but everyone has bought their green bags now, and they seem to be in a bit of a system of bringing them.

“Only time will tell if it will last.”

Coles, Bi-Lo, Safeway and IGA supermarkets at Warrnambool and in and around Fountain Gate also took part in the levy trial.

The State Government estimates that Victorian shoppers use about 1 billion lightweight plastic checkout bags each year.

The retail industry and the Government plan to use the results of the trial to create a strategy to reduce plastic bag use.

The money raised from the levy will fund local environmental projects.