Department stores' thicker plastic shopping bags could be next to face bans

Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory have banned single-use plastic bags, with supermarkets Woolworths and Coles introducing purchasable reusable bags instead.

Authorities are now working to relegate thicker, department store bags to the scrap heap.

Queensland's Environment and Science Department is leading national work, on behalf of all Australian jurisdictions, to encourage retailers to phase out single-use heavyweight plastic shopping bags.

The $50,000 project has so far included engaging with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation to organise roundtable discussions with major department stores, boutique retailers and peak bodies.

"These discussions explored options to reduce and phase out single-use heavyweight plastic bags in the retail sector," a Queensland Environment and Science Department spokeswoman said.

Queensland will seek to put the issue on the agenda for the next meeting of environment ministers, due later in 2018.

The project will also include research with retailers and the community to encourage a voluntary reduction in the supply of the thicker bags.

However, the reusable bags sold by Coles and Woolworths are not part of the discussions.

"The retailer-sold heavyweight plastic shopping bags are designed to be reused by consumers who purchase them, unlike department store plastic bags which are not designed to be reused," the department spokeswoman said.

National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb said many customers and retailers were happy to move away from plastic.

"Retailers know that consumers are looking for their environmental values to be reflected in the brands," she said.

"This [phase-out] is certainly something that is being discussed at multiple levels but there's no immediate risk of retailers being forced to phase out plastic altogether."

Boomerang Alliance Queensland manager Toby Hutcheon said the coalition of environment groups would like all states and territories to consider phasing out thicker plastic bags by the end of 2019.

"I suspect that most people get into the habit of saying, 'well I'll bring my own bag to the shops'," he said.

"If that's the habit, you can easily phase out the thicker bags as well because people are bringing their own bags."

Mr Hutcheon said plastic bags were disposable and when littered, could block creeks or pose a danger to marine animals, such as turtles.

In Queensland, less than 5 per cent of plastics are recycled.

Before the introduction of the single-use lightweight plastic bag ban on July 1 in Queensland, about 16 million plastic bags entered the environment every year.

The Department of Environment and Science was also developing a Plastic Pollution Reduction Plan for Queensland, which would be released for public consultation in the first quarter of 2019.

It will look at ways to reduce the impact of single-use plastic items, such as straws, and better ways for recovered plastics to be reused or recycled.