Seattle becomes the last city to ban straws and plastic utensils

Plastics and Other Debris Lining a Kentucky Estuary

If you are now using plastic straw or plastic utensils in Seattle, get ready to pay.

A ban came into effect on Sunday making these straws and utensils illegal. "All food service businesses, including restaurants, grocery stores, delicatessens, cafes, canteens and institutional cafeterias."

Offenders Will Be Fined $ 250

Companies may opt for straws and utensils friendly materials such as paper, steel and bamboo. Still, the city suggests that companies only provide these services on demand.

"It's taking a stand on plastic pollution," said Kate Melges of the Greenpeace Environmental Organization at KIRO, a subsidiary of CNN. "And really take a stand on what must happen, a ban on all plastic products for single use."

Greenpeace says that 40 percent of plastics in the ocean come from disposable plastics, reported KIRO

. years, Seattle has taken important steps to reduce waste. In 2009, Styrofoam was banned. In 2010, it became mandatory that "food service items" – with the exception of straws and utensils – be recyclable or compostable. In the same year, the city also required companies to have composting and recycling bins.

Other cities, such as Miami Beach, Florida, Monmouth Beach, New Jersey and several California municipalities, including Oakland and Berkeley, have banned the use of disposable plastic straws, but no 39; utensils. New York introduced a law banning plastic straws in May.

A report from last year's Science Advances scientific journal indicated that in 2015, only 9% of plastics were recycled, 12% were incinerated and 79% were found in the environment.