According to a 2008 estimate in Waste Management, people around the world discard between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags a year.

[6] Plastic is produced from petroleum, natural gas, and added chemicals, using large amounts of fossil fuel in production.

National Geographic states that some of these chemicals, notably phthalates and bisphenol A, have been implicated as human health problems.

Cities within the United States have implemented both bans and fees to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic bags to varying degrees of effectiveness.

[15] Tatiana Homonoff of Princeton University uses design-based research to estimate the effectiveness policies related to plastic bag usage in the United States.

This pattern is consistent with the economic model of loss aversion, and highlights the importance of financial incentives when designing policies directed to change consumer behavior.

Ritch, Brennan, and MacLeod argue that there are differences between regular consumer behaviors and those considered pro-environmental, thus complicating financial incentives with social expectations.

There is a certain amount of shame associated with using a single-use plastic bag provided general public knowledge on its problematic impact on the environment.

Erkan Arı and Veysel Yılmaz study the impact of consumer attitudes on consumption of plastic bags in Turkey.

Proposition 65 was an initiative to use proceeds from plastic bag sales in grocery stores to fund environmental projects in California.

[2] The measure could result in an increase of state costs to CalRecycle[24] to ensure bag manufacturers meet new requirements.

[26] Under the proposition, grocery and retail stores with pharmacies, are prohibited to provide their customers single use plastic bags.

Single-use plastic bags are one of the most common forms of litter and create environmental problems both on land and in water.

Plastic bags on land are slow to decompose, thus posing a continued threat to wildlife unless dealt with through human intervention and clean up.

Julie Packard, Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium states: "Plastic bags harm wildlife everyday.

Voting "Yes" on Proposition 67 keeps in place a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by the Governor that stops the distribution of single-use bags to consumers.

At the time of the vote, 122 ordinances banning single-use plastic bags had been approved in the State of California governing 151 jurisdictions.

Additionally, the implementation of a fee on reusable bags is an unnecessary burden to consumers that will be directed towards large stores instead of environmental efforts or projects with no oversight.

[36] The bag charge grants all profits directly to stores and manufacturers without any allotment form environmental conservation efforts.