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Businesses in NSW will be banned from supplying single-use plastic items to customers in the next six months.

The supply of lightweight shopping bags will be banned from June 1, 2022, and the supply of single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, bowls, and plates and expanded polystyrene food service items will be banned from November 1, 2022.

The supply of single-use plastic cotton buds and microbeads in rinse-off personal care products will also be banned.

This will prevent nearly 2.7 billion plastic items from entering the coastal, marine, and bushland environments of NSW over the next 20 years.

Exemptions will apply to ensure continued access to straws for people with a disability or medical need in NSW.

Environment Minister James Griffin said while a number of large and small businesses had already phased-out single-use plastics, for many the ban will involve significant change and they’ll need government and community support.

As part of a new partnership with the NSW Government, the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Retail Association (NRA) will visit retailers in the next nine months to provide factsheets, signage and advice to help businesses make changes, in line with the recently announced Plastics Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021.

The NRA has also launched a free hotline to offer businesses, community organisations and consumers advice on the single-use plastic bans.