Lightweight bags, straws and cutlery will be included in a NSW government plan to further cull plastic from the waste stream.
Green groups have welcomed the long-awaited move but say the government should not wait three years to review the use of other plastics including heavyweight grocery shopping bags and single-use plates and cups.
Environment Minister Matt Kean will head to Manly's Shelly Beach to formally launch the plastic-busting plan on Sunday.
Lightweight plastic bags will be phased out within six months of new laws passing parliament, which is expected to happen by the end of the year.
Within 12 months, plastic straws, cutlery and stirrers will also be on the banned list along with styrofoam cups, plates and containers, plastic-stemmed cotton buds and microbeads in products such as handwash and make-up.
WWF Australia says the action to keep some of the most problematic plastics out of the ocean and landfill is very welcome.
But it can't understand why the government will wait so long to ban others including the cheap, heavyweight bags sold at grocery stores but also coffee cups and lids.
"There are viable, sustainable alternatives to each of these items, so there's no reason to delay action for another three years," says Kate Noble, who leads WWF's push for action plastics.
"An estimated 130,000 tonnes of plastic flows into Australia's environment each year. That's the equivalent of more than two Titanic ships of plastic entering our oceans and waterways, so we must act quickly to solve this waste crisis."
