A review of Canberra's plastic bag ban won't be handed down until August, almost two months past its initial deadline.
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The review was commissioned after concerns that shoppers were throwing out thicker, reuseable plastic bags after one use.
The delay in the findings comes as Coles and Woolworths implement their own bans of single-use plastic bags at stores across the country.
The review was announced in January by ACT Greens leader and Climate Change Minister Shane Rattenbury to improve the plastic bag ban scheme. He tasked environment commissioner Kate Auty to lead the research, with a deadline set for June to report findings to the government.
However, Professor Auty said the final recommendations wouldn't be handed down until early August.
"The plastic issue is complex. We all agree on that and we needed more time to complete the report," Professor Auty said.
"We'll be making recommendations to the government in this report, and by that time the government has to time to respond to them."
The ACT's ban was enforced in 2011, with single-use plastic bags replaced by thicker, reuseable plastic bags and biodegradable bags.
Professor Auty said the recent decision from the supermarket giants to implement the ban across Australia came after a large groundswell of public support for a ban on plastic bags.
"There's no doubt that across the community there's been a discernable interest in doing something about our plastic bag use," she said.
"Coles and Woolworths would not be taking this decision if it was lacking in the public interest, and the public see it as a social licence question."
While the environment commissioner did not say what would be included in the report or the recommendations to the government, she said ACT residents changed their consumer habits as a result of the bag ban.
"It's always reassuring to see that companies are taking our consumer habits seriously," she said.
"There was real leadership shown when the ACT got on board with a plastic bag ban and recognising it as a way to dealing with our litter problem."
A previous review of the ban in 2014 found the amount of plastic bags going to landfill dropped 36 per cent, with a survey finding 65 per cent of respondents supported the scheme.
Mr Rattenbury said there has been frequent discussion with the environment commissioner about the review, with no formal interim report being released.
The Greens leader said while the ban led to positive behaviour changes in the ACT, he wants the ban to be as effective as possible.
"The ACT's review is all about checking that our ban is working as intended, and considering any improvements we might make to help Canberrans to live more sustainably," Mr Rattenbury said.
"It is great to see other states and companies getting on board with a ban on single-use plastic bags. The threat these bags pose to wildlife and the environment more broadly is well-known and unacceptable."
