New Jersey shoppers are days away from the plastic bag ban that will go into effect.

May 4 is the day single-use plastic and paper bags will officially be banned.

The law was passed Nov. 4, 2020 as a push to protect the environment and reduce litter.

Plastic bags are in the top 10 most-littered items in the Garden State.

The ban means that residents will now have to bring their own reusable bag.

The plastic bag ban will not only affect shoppers, but businesses like retail stores, restaurants and grocery stores will also be affected.

"I stopped ordering plastic bags in March," says Amarpreet Singh, who owns and runs Metuchen News, a local corner store. Singh says he's making the best of this ban and even started a business of importing cloth bags from India and selling them at his store.

"We're also doing some customs designs for local stores as well," he adds. "And we're going to be selling these bags to the local stores as well as some distributors in the U.S."

"Soon as we heard the news that we're not going to use any bags, we didn't buy anything like a lot, so we saved all this time and we only have these left for the few days left over," says Clara Ngo, of Café Paris, while showing the remainder of plastic bags that the business has left.

The law also bans Styrofoam to-go containers and makes plastic straws at restaurants by request only.

Residents say they're all for the ban because it means a better environment.

"I think it's a really great idea. It's an inconvenience we have to get used to, but we all just have to adjust to it. I think in the end, it's going to be great," says resident Dara Marcozzi.

Violating the law comes with some hefty fines. First time offenders get a warning, the second time, they'll be looking at $1,000 a day and $5,000 a day for three or more offenses.