Eugene residents, your days of carrying out restaurant leftovers and takeout in throwaway plastic containers may be numbered.

It also may take a bit more work to snag a plastic straw.

City councilors took a first step Wednesday toward banning or regulating single-use plastic and Styrofoam items that are a mainstay of convenience at restaurants and grocery stores.

But that convenience comes at an environmental cost as many of those throwaway items — also including plastic utensils and stirrers — end up littering parks, beaches and oceans, city officials said.

Eugene is poised to follow in the footsteps of other cities like Portland that have restricted the availability of single-use containers.

Councilor Emily Semple, who is championing the proposal, said she is seeking an even bolder initiative.

"I think this is a chance to really make a statement and to make some difference both through the behavioral changes and possibly substituting better materials" that can be reused, she said.

The proposal is the third majority initiative that city councilors are seriously considering with the new year barely underway. On Monday, they moved both a proposed construction excise tax and a panhandling limit to public hearings.

A majority of city councilors expressed support for doing something about non-recyclable items, but the exact details still need to be worked out. City councilors voted unanimously to continue the discussion at a future meeting; Councilor Claire Syrett was absent from the meeting.

The proposed ordinance on the table would prohibit caterers, grocery stores, restaurants and nonprofit food servers from providing plastic straws, except upon request, as well as barring them from serving or packaging food or drinks in items made of polystyrene or other single-use plastics.

Initially, Semple included a detailed list of prohibited items and wanted to move the proposal to a public hearing, required before a council vote. Her list included containers and wrappers; plates, bowls, cups and lids; stirrers and utensils; and condiment packets.

But she agreed to slow down after her colleagues raised concerns that her timeline was too aggressive.

"I'm in. Let's have the conversation. But there are way more questions than answers at the table so far," Councilor Mike Clark said.

Several city councilors said they were wary of the proposed ordinance creating other problems, including adding costs for low-income residents and increasing energy use and food waste.

"If I want to deal with an environmental issue, and I want to deal with it forthrightly and effectively, I don't want to have the unintended consequences of increasing burdens," Councilor Chris Pryor said.

As the discussion continued, city councilors have other options beyond a ban to discourage single-use items. They could require businesses to provide discounts to customers who bring in a reusable container or cup, or charge a deposit if they provide customers a reusable container to encourage them to bring it back, similar to the state's bottle deposit law. They also could make more items available only upon request.

Starting July 1, the city of Portland will forbid local restaurants, bars and coffee shops from giving out plastic straws or other single-use utensils unless customers ask for them. The city of Seattle has banned disposable plastic straws and utensils and required restaurants to provide takeout containers that are compostable or recyclable.

The issue has also caught the attention of state lawmakers with bills filed ahead of the upcoming session that would bar restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws unless requested.

In 2013, Eugene banned single-use plastic bags and imposed a 5 cent fee on customers who use paper bags, to reduce litter and encourage residents to shift toward reusable bags.

Follow Christian Hill on Twitter @RGchill. Email christian.hill@registerguard.com.