Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas enacted the regulation to reduce the use of disposable plastics, from cups to plates and mixer sticks. Biodegradable or reusable substitutes must be used instead.

Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, declared war on plastic utensils on Monday, enacting a city ordinance that bans hotels, restaurants, bars and other businesses from providing them to clients.

Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas enacted the regulation to reduce the use of disposable plastics, from cups to plates and mixer sticks. Biodegradable or reusable substitutes must be used instead.

“This is our environmental commitment to future generations: to stop generating tons of plastics and adopt other healthier habits for the planet,” Covas said during the signing of the regulation.

Businesses have until January 2021 to comply or be subject to fines ranging from 1,000 reals to 8,000 reals (241 U.S. dollars to 1,929 U.S. dollars).

Repeat offenders could face closure.”We believe the people will give up some individual comfort, because they understand we are making a commitment to the environment,” said Covas.

The ordinance also applies to mobile food or beverage carts, and even plastic sticks tied to balloons.Bar owner Celso Costa told Xinhua he was on board with the regulation, but somewhat concerned about the cost of substituting single-use plastics.”

We have to find out what the price of using other products will be, but I think it is a good measure. Like everything, it is a question of habit and it will be acquired gradually,” said Costa.

Plastics accounts for more than 16 percent of the waste at landfills and garbage dumps, according to the city of Sao Paulo. Each year, residents generate some 635,000 tons of plastic waste, the city government estimates