Woolworths has banned single-use plastic bags as of Wednesday, with plastic bags to be gone from Coles from July 1, the same day a Queensland government ban comes into effect.

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) has launched a "Don't Bag Retail Staff" campaign in an attempt to stop abusive behaviour towards staff.

"While we understand that some customers may be frustrated by this change, there is no excuse for abusive or violent behaviour towards retail staff," SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said.

Mr Dwyer said the union would also be reminding Woolworths staff about their rights, including not overloading bags at the customers' request and not handling extremely dirty or unhygienic bags.

Woolworths Queensland general manager Matt Franich said he did not have a figure on how much money the plastic bag ban would save the company.

"This definitely isn't about profit for us," he said.

"Our productivity alone decreases, and we will definitely not be making money out of this."

Here is a quick guide to everything you need to know about the plastic bag ban.

The Queensland government passed legislation banning single-use plastic bags, which also applies in takeaway shops and other retailers, from July 1.

Woolworths decided to ban single-use plastic bags across the country from June 20, while Coles' ban will take effect from July 1.

Western Australia will also enforce the ban from July 1, joining South Australia, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

Your cheapest options are to carry your groceries by hand, trolley or basket.

Or you can buy a "reusable", thicker plastic bag made from about 80 per cent recycled plastic for 15 cents at Coles or Woolworths, or green bag for 99 cents or above.

Woolworths Group chief executive Brad Banducci admitted it might take shoppers some time to form new habits.

"Putting 'reusable bags' at the top of your shopping list, keeping a couple in the car or leaving a Post-it note on the fridge are some simple tricks that could work as a reminder," he said.

Retailers face a fine of up to $6307.50 for giving a banned plastic shopping bag to a customer to carry goods from their premises, whether or not they charge for it.

A Woolworths spokesman said the company had worked to reduce its stock of single-use plastic bags since it first announced the ban in July 2017.

"As we remove the final stock of single-use bags from our stores and warehouses, we're expanding our network of industry recycling partners," the spokesman said.

Any leftover plastic bags will be given to recycling groups to turn them into products, such as benches.

A Coles spokeswoman said the company was managing inventory carefully to minimise the number of single-use bags remaining by July 1, while leftover bags would be recycled via REDcycle.

More than 26,000 submissions were received on the Queensland government's discussion paper about banning the use of lightweight plastic shopping bags, with more than 95 per cent supportive.

The ban had bipartisan political support in Queensland, after first being proposed by the LNP.

A survey of 12,500 Woolworths shoppers in May showed 74.7 per cent supported the move to remove single-use plastic bags.

About 10 million plastic bags are used each day in Australia, according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

Almost 1 billion single-use plastic bags are used by Queenslanders every year.

Plastic bags break down into tiny pieces and can be eaten by marine animals, such as turtles, leading to starvation.

"About 30 per cent of sea turtles and 90 per cent of sea birds have ingested some kind of plastic," Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said.

Ms Enoch suggested after separating recyclables, people could wrap any remaining rubbish in newspaper before placing it in the bin.

"There are other ways to be able to manage our waste besides purchasing plastic bags," she said.