SUVA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- All Fijians need to pay 20 cents for a plastic bag if they are buying items from the supermarkets from August 1.

The Attorney-General and Minister of Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had announced that the price of plastic levy would increase in the 2018-19 national budget.

This levy will increase from 10 Fijian cents (about 4.2 U.S. cents) to 20 Fijian cents (about 9.5 U.S cents) per plastic bag.

Khaiyum said, the Fijian communities need to raise their awareness on the dangers of plastic pollution and alternatives for the next two years to give every Fijian and every Fijian business more time to prepare for this transition.

The rise in the plastic bag levy should discourage the use of plastic bags and promote the use of reusable bags.

Jioji Suka, a Nasinu resident who resides 30 minutes drive from Suva city said he preferred to pack his items in cartons.

"I use cartons because I can re-use it for storage at home and even for beds for my pets instead of buying plastic bags when I know it destroys the environment," he said.

A plastic bag study conducted by the Fiji Department of Environment has revealed that the minimum number of plastic bags used annually is around 50 to 60 million for a population of more than 884,000 people, said Fiji's Minster for Environment, Parveen Bala at the launch of the National Environment Day Campaign in June.

The Fijian government is looking forward to completely ban plastics by 2020.