Starting next year, Seattle restaurants will no longer provide plastic straws and plastic utensils to its patrons after a 2010 ordinance finally takes effect.

“As of July 1, 2018, food services businesses should not be providing plastic straws or utensils,” Sego Jackson, the strategic advisor for Waste Prevention and Product Stewardship for Seattle Public Utilities, told Q13 FOX.

“What they should be providing are compostable straws or compostable utensils. But they also might be providing durables, reusables, or encouraging you to skip the straw altogether,” he added.

Jackson said the city’s effort to ban disposal plastic food service ware had been in the books since 2010 but was stalled because compostable alternatives were not viable yet.

“Early on there weren’t many compostable options,” he explained. “And some of the options didn’t perform well or compost well. That’s all changed now.”

The exemption that allowed eateries to dispense plastic straws and utensils is set to expire and will not be renewed.

The ban only applies to restaurants serving food, as plastic straws and utensils can still be purchased at city grocery stores. Restaurants that do not comply will be warned and eventually fined but eateries will be given assistance with the transition.

“These things take time to get businesses up to speed and in compliance,” Jackson said.