If you're like me and have 1,001 uses for plastic grocery bags, it's time to stockpile or find alternatives: New Jersey's strictest-in-the-nation ban on single-use bags is coming! (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)AP

Well, it looks like I might have finally found a use for all of those Amazon delivery boxes choking up the garage. Time for what our friends in architecture would call an adaptive reuse: With New Jersey’s strictest-in-the-nation plastic bag ban beginning on May 4, those boxes could soon be pressed into service as grocery transport vessels. Check out this handy Instagram walk-through for all the details.

After that, you’ll have to bring your own bags to the grocery store to bring back your haul. You probably have some already -- those heavy plastic, oversized gift bags they sell at places like Big Lots and Bed, Bath and Beyond will work just fine. So will the stack of paper bags you have tucked into a crevasse in the laundry room.

And if you really can’t leave those single-use plastic bags behind, you can re-use some of the dozens you probably have stuffed into a drawer, in a closet or if you have your stuff together, in a fancy holder.

Just think -- as the supply of leftover plastic bags dwindles, you’ll have to start deciding if your walk with the dog or trip to the store is bag-worthy, like that old Seinfeld bit with Elaine trying to decide if her date was worth using a discontinued contraceptive on.

Is any of this going to solve the climate crisis? Nope. We’re one state, in one country, and the global environment won’t be greatly improved by our efforts. Only major economic shifts (say, to all-electric vehicles) or big changes by global corporations will do that.

So why bother? Because those plastic bags are difficult to recycle and contribute to trash problems wherever they’re used. There’s probably at least one blown into a corner of your backyard, or on your street, right now. And we simply don’t need them, with the number of available re-usable and environmentally friendly ones available.

Also this week, check your EZPass, Newark on the move, hands off, pearly white, and a move toward regionalization:

EZ PASS: The location tracker we all love to hate, that EZPass transponder stuck to your windshield, might need replacing: Check this story to see if your transponder is old and outdated, and how to get a new one.

NEWARK RENEWAL: New residential venture in Newark will replace eyesores with affordable housing. The 48-unit West Side Village has been vacant and decaying since 2016.

HANDS OFF: A male track and field coach is facing criminal charges alleging he inappropriately touched the behind of a female athlete before a track-and-field event. The coach “sometimes rubs his hand against a person’s butt in order to ‘get some affection,’” according authorities and can we just not touch girls butts, please?

PEARLY WHITES: I once found a little brownish pebble in an oyster, but that’s nothing compared to the actual pearl one lucky diner found recently in Cape May. Michael Spressler from Brick was eating at The Lobster House when he made the valuable discovery, and it could be worth a pretty penny. More here.

SALEM REGIONALIZATION: Big fan of regionalization over here, especially in some of New Jersey’s most rural counties. Case in point, Salem County, where 13 school local school districts and a charter school are considering combining into one or more regional districts.

Finally, the idea of “post-pandemic life,” which we talked a bit about last week, is beginning to take shape. What will it look like in New Jersey, now that the official public health emergency is lifting?

Once the pandemic shifts into “after” mode, you can still count on NJ.com for the most up-to-date reporting, data and analysis of what happened, how it changed us and what it all meant. Along with everything else.

Over these last two years, I’ve more than once pointed to our COVID coverage -- the meticulously-maintained dashboards, the daily coverage of the governor’s press conferences, the dispatches from the front lines of health care -- as reasons you should subscribe to NJ.com. And that’s still true.

But now I want to suggest that continuing your connection to this engaged, informed community and our journalism will be key to understanding what happens next. If you’re not already a subscriber, I hope you’ll consider joining us today.

Have a terrific week, pray for peace and think Spring!

P.S.: What? No Friendly’s Fishamajig?

Amy Z. Quinn is NJ.com’s Audience Editor, Newsletters and Briefings. To get a Letter From Your Editor every Saturday, add your email here.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.