In the past twenty years since scientists have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, ocean pollution has increased substantially. When most people think of the Garbage Patch, they think of an island of plastic debris in the middle of the ocean. However, the gyre is made up of microplastics, which are broken down plastics that decay from wear from the sun. Fish and other marine life consume these plastics, which results in bioaccumulation, causing the food that we eat to be contaminated to a greater degree in addition to the obvious destruction of marine life. Currently in Monterey County, only 5% of our plastic bags get recycled, leaving 95% of plastic shopping bags used by tourists and locals unaccounted for. In the summer of 2014, Governor Jerry Brown approved a bill called SB 270 that would ban plastic shopping bags in California with a thickness of less than 2.25mm as of July 2015. In the overall plan, paper bags would cost ten cents and reusable bags would be offered for sale at checkout as well.  However, due to 504,760 signatures that overturned the ban on plastic bags, the ban will not go into effect in July despite the support of 67 counties in California that support the ban.  Join our cause in reducing the amount of disposable plastic used in California by promoting the ban on plastic bags. We not only need to reduce disposable plastic use, but promote the education of the effects plastics have on our environment, and consequently our health.  Banning disposable plastic bags is not the solution to our plastic pollution problem, but it is a realistic place to start. Sign our petition today.