The Victorian Government has been accused of letting industry decide environment policy after replacing a promised compulsory plastic bags levy with a system run voluntarily by retailers. Victorian Environment Minister Gavin Jennings this week announced a pilot scheme by the Australian National Retailers Association representing major supermarket chains that will charge up to 25 cents a bag at the checkout. This followed federal and state environment ministers failing to agree on a national scheme to phase out plastic bags by the end of the year. A green groups coalition said the Victorian plan, to be trialled from August in at least one Melbourne suburb and one country town, was a backdown from a 2006 election pledge to introduce a compulsory levy of at least 10 cents a bag from January 2009. The Boomerang Alliance, including the Australian Conservation Foundation and Clean Up Australia, said Victoria was developing a reputation of deferring to business on environment issues. "This Government went to the election with its hand on its heart saying it would phase out the bag," Boomerang Alliance national campaigns director Dave West said. "Now it seems like a Government that is soft on industry and really struggles to understand that the voices it is listening to are polluters. Is Victoria starting to rule out using regulation as a solution?" But Premier John Brumby said the retailers scheme was an advance on what Victoria had promised before the election. Mr Jennings said he was confident the voluntary scheme would have exactly the same result in phasing out plastic bags as a compulsory law, with close to 100% uptake by early next year. He said a compulsory levy would have gone into retailers' pockets. The voluntary deal would allow the money raised to be spent on environmental projects, including introducing biodegradable bags. "I think anyone who ignores that as a very legitimate issue is not being a very good environmentalist . . . you will find by the end of the year we won't be the only state looking at this," Mr Jennings said. Under the Victorian plan, supermarkets will test bag prices of between 10 and 25 cents. Australian National Retailers Association chief executive Margy Osmond said her members' key concern was ensuring grocery bills did not become more expensive unnecessarily. Some stores have claimed success with a self-imposed levy. Book chain Borders yesterday announced a 70% drop in plastic bag use since introducing a 10-cent levy in February. But Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said research suggested neither a levy nor a ban would make much difference to plastic bags habits. Reports for the Productivity Commission and a previous incarnation of the environment ministers council have found that the financial costs of banning lightweight bags far outweigh the environmental benefits. "I think most Victorians are pretty good with plastic bags," Mr Baillieu said. Mr West argued for a ban over a tax, saying a checkout levy in Ireland produced only a short-term cut in bag use. He said plastic bags were only a small part of Australia's waste problem, but became a potential wildlife killer once they became litter. Offloading baggage - and bags Natalie Poole hasn't accepted a plastic bag for 13 years. It began when she spent a torturous break-up lunch with her boyfriend, staring at takeaway containers. She realised it was time to rid her life of more than one negative influence. Since then Ms Poole, 35, of Brunswick, has refused plastic bags and opted to use cloth bags. "Thirteen years ago it used to be quite confrontational . . . Once a guy insisted I had to take (a plastic bag) if I was going to enter his shop, so I went back the next day and gave it back to him because I was so frustrated," she says. But public sentiment has changed. Ms Poole was disappointed that a meeting of environment ministers on Thursday failed to phase out plastic bags. "It's a case of the (State) Government not really keeping up with where people are at." MIKI PERKINS