On the Friday afternoon before Easter, I stood at the end of the checkout lines of a supermarket waiting for a friend to finish shopping. Shoppers filed along while conveyor belts filled with food were whisked into bags and loaded into shopping carts.

Meanwhile, other grocery carts glided past me, their purchases swathed in billowing white clouds of plastic. I couldn’t help wondering where all these bags would end up.

Though attitudes are gradually shifting in recent years, we Americans still love our plastic. A study done in 2014 estimated that 100 billion single-use plastic bags are thrown away annually in the United States. Where does all that plastic go?

While some is recycled to create products like Trex lumber used for decking, millions of pounds wind up in oceans and landfills, taking thousands of years to break down. They are a danger to both birds and sea life, who choke on bits of plastic and are often strangled by discarded shopping bags.

In addition to the environmental hazards created by plastic bags usage, the manufacture of them requires billions of pounds of fossil fuels and billions of gallons of fresh water. The cost of this process is passed onto our grocery stores, which is further passed on in inflating our food prices.

Lynn Shelly (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / THE MORNING CALL)

An estimated 100 billion single-use plastic bags are discarded every year in the United States. (ARIMAG/Shutterstock)

But changes are on the way.

Beginning May 4, a ban on the use of plastic bags went into effect in our neighboring state of New Jersey. This means that grocery stores and other retail businesses above a certain size will no longer be allowed to distribute plastic bags to their customers.

In addition to this, they will ban the use of plastic foam containers. Plastic straws, another hazard to sea animals, will be distributed only upon request.

Wegmans market is taking similar measures, promising to end the use of plastic bags in all its stores by the end of this year. Other states around the U.S. have enacted similar laws to New Jersey’s, and it seems likely Pennsylvania will eventually follow suit.

In the meantime, why wait to be forced to change our habits, when we know it is in the best interest of both our environment and economy?

I admit it took me a while to come around, and there are still occasional times when I find myself grabbing that plastic bag. It is uncomfortable to argue with a frenzied store clerk who whips your purchase into a bag almost before you can blink.

It can take time to change old habits, but with commitment and creativity, new habits can become a way of life. These are some practical tips that I found helpful to reduce my use of plastic bags.

· Store reusable bags in your car:

A common problem with reusable bags is simply forgetting you need them until you are already at the store. By always keeping them in the back seat of my car, I had no chance of forgetting them.

After each grocery run, once I’ve unpacked my bags, they immediately go back in my car, ready for the next run. It’s also a good idea to overestimate the number of bags you are going to need to avoid being caught short at the checkout.

· Buy foldable nylon bags for other purchases:

The nice thing about these small lightweight bags is they can easily be stored in a purse, backpack or glove compartment. I use them for a quick trip to the drug store and other retail outlets when I’m not purchasing food items. Many gift shops sell these decorative bags, and you can also purchase them online.

· Get reusable bags for produce:

These small netlike bags, which resemble the ones used for laundering lingerie, are often available in supermarkets or can be purchased online. They save you the hassle of trying to pry open those annoyingly flimsy plastic ones and can be tossed in the washer when they need freshening up.

Face it, how often are we buying just one or two items that don’t really need a bag? Just remember to hold on to your receipt, at least until you’ve left the store.

There are a number of ways you can recycle plastic bags along with taking them to the bins at your supermarket. While the Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank will soon be converting to reusable bags, many food pantries need plastic bags for their clients.

There are churches and charities that collect plastic bags and cut them into strips called plarn. These strips are then woven into mats, which are given to people who are homeless. When a normally discarded product is used to create something new, it is called upcycling.

In a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center, 80% of respondents said they would be willing to make changes in their life to reduce global warming. Yet only 56% believed society was doing a good job in addressing environmental problems.

We may, at times, feel frustrated and helpless to address all the issues impacting our environment. But reducing our use of plastic bags is one small change we can each make now.

And one small change, multiplied many times, eventually reaps a big impact.

Lynn Shelly, a South Whitehall Township resident, worked as a library media specialist in the Parkland School District.