New South Wales will ban single-use plastic bags from today, bringing them in line with the rest of Australia.
Environment Minister James Griffin said the ban is the first step in a plan to eradicate single-use plastic items and packaging.
More than 2.7 billion plastic items end up in waterways across NSW each year, and single-use plastic items make up about 60 per cent of the state's litter.
The government is working with the National Retail Association (NRA) to help businesses with the transition.
“Single-use plastic is used by many of us for just a few convenient minutes, but it remains in our environment for many years, eventually breaking into microplastics,” he said.
Further restrictions on other single-use plastics will be introduced from November, including straws, cutlery, plates and bowls, crockery and cups made from expanded polystyrene, along with plastic cotton buds and rinse-off personal care products with plastic beads.
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