"Government has targeted plastic bags because they are the most visible kind of waste," said Phindile Makwakwa, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. "But this is mostly about changing people's mindsets about the environment."

South Africa is awash in plastic pollution. Plastic bags are such a common eyesore that they are dubbed "roadside daisies" and referred to as the national flower.

Under the new rules, the bags must be now 24-microns thick, or about the heft of a heavy garbage bag, compared with 15-17 micron "flimsies" now used at supermarkets.

The new bags are intended to be more durable and, because of new restrictions on the amount of printing that may be used, should be more attractive to recyclers, Makwakwa said.

Consumers will have to pay as much as six U.S. cents per bag, but officials say this should be offset by price reductions promised by supermarket chains.

Environmentalists have hailed South Africa's drive against the bags as a step toward reducing pollution and building a recycling industry in a country that desperately needs jobs.

And while industry has been lukewarm, the new bag standards represent a compromise that producers, retailers and - it is hoped - consumers can live with.

"It's a really positive move. Some of the public's apprehensions about the inconvenience or the cost is going to be allayed in due course as habits change," said Patrick Dowling of the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa.

Bill Naude of the Plastics Federation of South Africa said the country used about eight billion plastic bags annually, a figure which could drop by 50 percent if the new law works.

But producers hope to squeak through unscathed. "There should be no significant impact on us because of the additional volume of material being used per bag," Naude said.