If your morning cup o’ joe feels a bit different in your hand Monday, it may be because Albany County began enforcing its ban on polystyrene foam packaging in chain eateries as of Saturday.

While the law technically went into effect in late July, six months after its passage last fall and filing with the state, the County Executive Dan McCoy’s administration chose not to enforce it until Nov. 1 in order to give chains a chance to use up existing stock.

Mary Rozak, a spokeswoman for the county, said the Health Department will be conducting compliance checks as part of eateries’ annual health code inspections — or upon a complaint from the public.

Rozak said the county won’t launch surprise inspections just to nab violators.

Under the law passed by the County Legislature last November, eateries that are part of a chain of more than 15 locations nationally must replace their polystyrene coffee cups and to-go containers with a compostable or biodegradable alternative.

The law does not apply to raw meat, poultry or seafood sold to be cooked at home.

First-time violators could face a fine up to $250, second-time offenders up to $500 and third-time offenders could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000.

County lawmakers passed the law in hopes of reducing the amount of non-biodegradable trash in the county’s waste stream to help the environment and reduce the stress on quickly-filling local landfills.

Albany County is the only one in the immediate Capital Region with a ban but just one of more than 100 communities nationwide that have cracked down on the foam containers. Industry representatives and some Republican lawmakers opposed the measure citing the added costs for businesses — though some businesses, like Price Chopper, welcomed it.

While my coffee cup from the Wolf Road Dunkin’ Donuts passed muster Monday morning, another TU staffer snagged some java from a Cumberland Farms in Albany County that still came in a polystyrene cup.

Update: Albany County notes the law only applies to restaurants regulated by the county Health Department, not gas stations and convenience stores (like Cumberland Farms and Stewart’s) regulated by the state Department of Agriculture & Markets.