Plastic coffee cups tamped out in nation-first ban

Single-use, non-compostable coffee cups are now banned in WA but compostable cups are still allowed. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)

Hundreds of millions of coffee cups are expected to be saved from landfill as the nation's first ban on plastic-lined takeaway cups takes effect.

Western Australia became the first state to introduce the ban on single-use, non-compostable coffee cups on Friday, with businesses who fail to comply threatened with hefty fines.