The added initiatives come as no surprise since Minneapolis and St. Louis park are the first two cities in Minnesota to require restaurants to use cups and boxes that are recyclable or compostable for to-go orders.

"We really didn't think we'd have to have this debate. However, we feel it's a huge issue because of how many drinks and how many straws are going out of the restaurant," said Lucas Derheim, The Block restaurant co-owner in St. Louis Park. "If we don't give them a straw to begin with, a lot of times they don't think about it."

While straws aren't banned outright in St. Louis Park, under the city's new ordinance, the idea is to make handing out straws less of a "bad" habit. To get a straw, you'll have to specifically ask.

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"Some mixed reviews, but we're trying to let everybody know it's something that's good for the environment," said Derheim. "We think it's the right thing to do."

And on New Year's Eve, those ready to drink don't seem to mind too much, even embracing alternatives like metal or paper straws

"Obviously, no straws here," said Breanna Baker, who was at The Block on Tuesday. "Paper straws tend to dissolve over time, and so it was kind of annoying, but if it's better for the environment, save some turtles, use some paper straws, I'm good with that."

While it'll be a learning curve, St. Louis Park's mayor feels this was the right step forward.

"We're seeing more and more restaurants that are coming online already adopting these strategies. They don't want to buy straws anymore; they don't want to spend money on something folks don't need or want anyhow," said Mayor Jake Spano.

To help with the transition, the staff at The Block plans to physically move where they keep the straws to a spot that isn't as easily reachable – one approach to breaking the environmentally unfriendly habit: Out of sight and out of mind.

The same rules apply at drive-thru windows. Straws won't be automatically placed in cups or to-go bags, but you can still grab straws at counters with straw dispensers, without asking.

To read more about the ordinance, click here.