The Whole Foods grocery chain plans to stop offering customers plastic grocery bags, and instead use only recycled paper or reusable bags.

A rising number of governments and retailers are banning plastic bags, or discouraging their use, due to concerns about their environmental impact.

Whole Foods had previously tried to get customers to buy reusable bags, but the concept did not catch on until they began offering them for 99 cents.

Whole Foods officials estimate that the store currently distributes 150 million plastic bags a year.

Plastic bags are typically thrown away after one use, do not break down easily in the environment, fill landfills, and float into trees, rooftops, roadways and oceans.