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There is also this theory that it's caused a Hepatis outbreak: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/hepatitis-crisis/sd...

People who are homeless would often use plastic bags as a bathroom, and then throw it in the trash. No more plastic bags, so they can't do that...

Not sure what real evidence there is for it, but I always love an unintended consequences story.

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I'm not so sure that's a cautionary tale about unintended consequences as much as an illustration of the lack of public toilets. Do we really want people doing their business in plastic bags?

I'm a proponent of the idea that the bag ban is a contributing factor to the hepatitis epidemic. I don't think it is the only factor. The epidemic also started about the same time the multi year California drought broke. That was an especially wet winter, with deadly storms and flooding. I think the heavy rains likely also contributed to the epidemic.

There are probably other factors as well. I believe homelessness has been on the rise in Southern California. Concentration of poverty tends to go bad places healthwise.

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