MINNEAPOLIS  — The Minneapolis City Council has voted to step up enforcement of a decades-old ordinance that bans restaurants and other businesses from using polystyrene containers. 

The City Council voted Friday that it would lower the fine for violators, but step up enforcement. City Council member Andrew Johnson said the move could mean that the white foam containers could be out of the city’s waste stream for good.

He said city health and food inspectors hadn’t been checking for the banned packaging consistently, and now they will be required to. The public can also report violations.

The Minneapolis ordinance, which also legalizes compostable food containers, will take effect next Earth Day, April 22.

The move affects local restaurants and other establishments that use polystyrene. The material is not recycled because it is too hard to clean and the market for it is small.

Johnson, who sponsored the measure, estimated there could be as many as 10 million polystyrene containers in Minneapolis’ trash each year.