If you're a fan of take-out, next time you dine in St. Augustine Beach, you may notice that something is missing.
In a meeting on Monday, the St. Augustine Beach City Commission declared two new ordinances that will ban the use of straws, plastic and single-use styrofoam in the best interest of public health and litter elimination efforts.
The City Commission says that the ordinances will give businesses a grace period until January to allow them to deplete their current stock of single-use carryout plastic materials and transition to reusable or compostable alternatives.
The ordinances will go into effect Jan. 1.
Those who are found in violation of the ordinances after January will receive a verbal warning followed by a $50 fine, and then a $100 fine for each additional violation.
The ordinances state that single-use carryout plastic items are harmful to the environment when they make their way into the food chain and can injure animals such animals as jellyfish and endangered sea turtles.