The Queensland Government will ban single-use plastic shopping bags from 2018, and will not wait for other eastern states to do the same.

Key points: Queensland says it will not wait for Victoria and NSW to come on board for an east-coast ban

Queensland says it will not wait for Victoria and NSW to come on board for an east-coast ban Ban on single-use plastic bags would start in 2018

Ban on single-use plastic bags would start in 2018 LNP Opposition has promised to phase-out single-use bags if elected

Labor has been considering a ban for more than a year, and in recent months has been pushing for New South Wales and Victoria to join a so-called east-coast ban.

Environment Minister Steven Miles said he would make the case again when he meets his southern counterparts today.

"It's the best way for it to happen. What we don't want is for people who live on the southern Gold Coast to drive to New South Wales if they forget their re-useable shopping bags," Mr Miles said.

"It would be better if we could get a solution that would deal with those kind of cross-border issues."

But he said Queensland would push ahead even if a deal could not be struck to ban single-use bags along the east coast.

Mr Miles said voluntary action taken by supermarkets around the nation several years ago was successful.

"In the three years of voluntary action, the number of lightweight bags in use was reduced by around 44 per cent. Unfortunately, once the voluntary actions stopped, our use of plastic bags started to increase," he said.

South Australia, the Northern Territory, the ACT and Tasmania already have plastic bag bans.

A discussion paper with the details of the Palaszczuk Government's plan will be released today.

Earlier this week the LNP opposition announced its policy to phase out plastic bags if it wins the next election.