As the use of plastic bag litter grew the City of San José was adversely impacted, with three waterways declared severely impaired by trash. To combat this the city has put into play a very strict, yet beneficial plastic bag ordinance which prohibits single-use bags at any store as well as a minimum 10 cent charge for paper bags. The program has been nominated for the 2016 Local Government Excellence Awards in the category of Community Sustainability (populations of 50,000 and greater).