IKEA will charge U.S. customers five cents for disposable plastic shopping bags in what the international furniture giant said was a first step to ending their use altogether.

IKEA said the decision to stop giving away free bags to customers is an attempt to reduce the estimated 100 billion bags thrown away by all U.S. consumers each year.

IKEA currently provides some 70 million free bags to its U.S. customers. It expects to cut that by half in the first year and to eventually eliminate the use of the bags.

The company said it will also cut the price of reusable bags to 59 cents from 99 cents to encourage their use.

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