Plastic bag bans are coming soon - here's what you need to know

Single-use plastic bags are on their way out around the country, with every state except New South Wales onboard with proposed bans.

From July 1, Queensland and Western Australia will ban lightweight plastic bags from major retailers.

South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT already have the regulations in place. Victoria is also planning to phase out the bags this year.

So what will this mean for you?

The ban only applies to single-use plastic bags thinner than 0.035mm, like the ones you would receive at a supermarket.

There will still be options to purchase reusable green bags or thicker, heavy duty plastic bags.

At Woolworths and Aldi, reusable plastic bags are currently being sold for $0.15, while cotton bags are $0.99 and reusable chiller bags are $2.49.

Coles offers cotton bags for $1.00.

While the thicker, sturdier plastic bags are designed to be recycled, some argue that if consumers go through them at the same rate as lightweight bags, the impact on the environment could be worse.

Professor Sami Kara from the University of New South Wales told the ABC the substitute is a good start, but not nearly enough to reduce waste.

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"I think it's a better solution but the question is, is it good enough? To me it's not good enough.

"It's better in the long term that we don't use [plastic bags] at all."

In Australia, some retailers have already noticed a difference by limiting plastic bag use.

Bunnings was one of the first big chains to remove free plastic bags and instead charge customers $0.10 per bag. As a result, bag usage was reduced by 99 per cent over five years, according to Choice.

IKEA also removed all plastic bags in 2008, followed by Australia Post in 2009.

Earlier this month, Woolworths announced it will stop offering free single-use bags to shoppers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA from June 20.

"We know this is a big change for our customers and store teams, and we need to do all we can to make the transition as seamless as possible for both," Woolworths' chief executive Brad Banducci said in a statement.

The supermarket provides 3.2 million plastic bags per year. Approximately one per cent of those, or about 35 million, end up in the environment.