Every time I walk into the grocery store lugging my assorted collection of shopping bags I am hopeful. Upon entry I anxiously scan to see if others shoppers are carrying a collection of bags as well. So far, since the beginning of the new year, it’s been a futile search. I know there must be others out there who bring their own bags but I just haven’t seen them.

When I made my new years’ resolution to bring my own shopping bags, it took me almost a year to make good on that resolution. I could never remember to take my shopping bags with me to the store. It would hit me when I was checking out. This would happen many more times until I figured out that I should put my bags in the car. Then when I got to the store it would take me several more times before I would remember to take them with me when I got out of the car. And then, after I had actually used them and brought groceries home in them, it would take me several more times to remember to put them back in the car again. The short story is free plastic bags are a hard habit to break, and no one helps you to remember to bring your shopping bags.

Plastic bag use is unconscious. No one thinks twice about taking a shopping bag to the store to bring the things that they’ve purchased home. The stores automatically provide shoppers with free bags that advertise their store. Some stores even insist on bagging your purchase, so they know you have indeed, purchased the item. A free bag with purchase is a right for every consumer. It is a deeply ingrained habit in America’s consumer culture and is a modern convenience that is completely taken for granted.

Plastic grocery checkout bags are probably used on average for about fifteen minutes at the most, and then they are thrown out. At least at my experience that’s how long it takes me to get home from the grocery store. According to an article on WorldWatch Institute’s website, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags a year, and only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

Plastic bag use is one of the most wasteful, hazardous, environmentally expensive and totally correctable habits modern humans have, and in reaction, cities like San Francisco last year have resorted to a plastic bag ban and other countries like Ireland charge a plas tax of twenty cents per bag used.

I think we should be creative and start a new holiday tradition. In February, one automatically thinks of Valentines, in March its shamrocks and in April it should be shopping bags. On Earth Day April 22, we should all bring our reusable shopping bags to the store. If everyone, for one day, brought their own shopping bags just think how many plastic bags would not be used and not dumped in the land fill, or not become liter in our forest and streets and not be a threat to our wildlife. It would be a lot of bags. It could catch on and people might remember. Earth Day April 22nd – BYOB, bring your own bag.