The ACT will leave plastic shopping bags in 2023, as the territory government's ban kicks in on Monday.
The ban on all single-use shopping bags, made fully or partially from plastic, is the next phase of the territory's crack down on single-use plastics.
Lightweight plastic shopping bags - at or below 35 micrometres in thickness - were scrapped in 2011, but from Monday, thicker variants will also be shelved.
It is a step beyond current laws in NSW and Victoria, which have so far only banned lightweight plastic bags.
Supermarket chains Coles, ALDI and Woolworths say they had already phased out plastic bags, while Supabarn was still using them in 2023.
Ainslie IGA store manager Nicholas Mihailakis said the store had been using paper bags for more than two years.
"It was pretty easy to be honest. Once you find decent paper bags, it's not too bad," Mr Mihailakis said.
"There are a lot of poor quality ones out there, which made things hard sometimes.
"The hardest thing for us is cost obviously - we were selling the bags at a loss for a long time during the transition."
The ban on heavyweight plastic bags will build on earlier steps to reduce single-use plastics, the ACT's City Services Minister Tara Cheyne said.
"Whilst heavyweight plastic bags may be re-used, many are being treated as single-use products ending up in landfill or littering our environment," Ms Cheyne said.
"Canberrans have really embraced the phase-out of single-use plastics to date.
"Remembering to bring reusable and non-plastic paper bags when heading to the shops is a great way for all Canberrans to participate in the circular economy."
Some exceptions will remain in place, including for plastic bags without handles, unsealed bags used to package perishable food such as fruit or cooked poultry, shopping bags made of nylon, polyester or woven polypropylene, as well as non-woven polypropylene bags with a minimum weight of 90g/m with sewn seams.
Ms Cheyne said the National Retail Association had visited retailers in the ACT more than 1600 times to spread the word about the changes.
"Retailers will continue to be provided with ongoing support as part of the ACT government's education-first compliance approach," she said.
The government has also banned other plastics such as single-use bowls, plates and cutlery, and microbeads in personal care and cleaning products, over the last two-and-a-half years.
But Mr Mihailakis said there was more to be done, with retailers struggling to facilitate the recycling of soft plastics since the REDcycle scandal and collapse.
The program allowed customers to recycle soft plastics in-store up until November 2022, when it was revealed the scheme was unable to process its stockpiles.
"There's so many things that were recyclable before, like chip packets, biscuit packets and stuff like that.
"They were [recyclable], now they're not, so I think we're a bit behind the eight ball with that."
The government will also introduce reforms to stimulate the territory's nightlife from January 1, including automatically allowing smaller licensed restaurants and cafes to trade until 2am, reducing liquor licensing fees for smaller venues and streamlining licensing regulations.
Tree protections will also be bolstered as the government continues to work on growing canopy cover in the territory.
