Labor calls for plastic bag ban in NSW

The NSW opposition wants to ban plastic shopping bags across the state.

The Labor leader is planning to bring forward legislation in parliament to ban lightweight plastic bags next year.

At least one million sea birds, fish and mammals are killed each year from plastic and more needs to be done to "address the carnage", state opposition leader Luke Foley said on Thursday.

Labor's proposal would be similar to the ACT model, which bans single-use lightweight plastic bags and allows retailers to charge for reusable bags, he said.

Any legislative ban introduced by the state government would also have bipartisan support, Mr Foley said.

Plastic-bag bans are already in place in South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.