SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban Styrofoam containers used for takeout meals.

The bill would prohibit restaurants, grocery stores and other vendors from dispensing food in expanded polystyrene containers, commonly known as Styrofoam, beginning in 2016. If signed into law, the measure would make California the first to institute a statewide ban on the containers.

Some restaurant owners are complain that could them thousands of dollars at a time when profit margins are already thin.

BJ's Kountry Kitchen, in the heart of California's farm country, uses about 26,000 of the 9-inch foam clamshells a year, mostly for takeout by the customers who come in for the restaurant's popular breakfast omelets. Owner Gary Honeycutt says switching to biodegradable cartons would more than double his costs.