A Treasure Island resident said plastic straws from Caddy's on the Beach has become a problem and posted a picture on Facebook that prompted the restaurant to change its policy.

"The other day, we picked up so many that we decided that we had enough and decided to try and return them," said Julie Featherston. "I try to teach my son to take care of our environment."

The mom said she walks Sunset Beach at least once a week with her 5-year-old son and they always find a lot of straws in the sand near Caddy's. Initially, Featherston said the restaurant and beach bar ignored her complaint.

"I asked them if they would please stop serving straws with their drinks," she said. "They told me that was unrealistic and that customers would complain."

On Tuesday, Featherston posted a picture of a fistful of straws on Facebook to try to publicly shame Caddy's.

It worked.

The post quickly racked up more than 7,800 shares, and Caddy's management responded by changing its policy. Now, customers only get a straw if they want one.

"We’re not putting straws in the drinks," said Luke Lemanski, Caddy's associate manager. "Our wait staff, we’re training them to walk around with straws in their pocket and asking the customer if they’d like a straw. Instead of just assuming and put one in the drink."

Lemanski said since the new owners took over Caddy's earlier this year, they've started a recycling program and are looking to be more environmentally friendly.

"We’re going to try and go to the option of finding a biodegradable straw," he said. "Our beach is raked daily. We take a lot of pride in keeping it clean. We actually have staff members whose sole purpose is to come out here and clean the beach."

On Friday, Bay News 9 saw that many Caddy's customers clearly prefer straws, but all agree the plastic belong in their drinks or the trash, not on the beach or water. Featherston said she's happy with Caddy's response so far, but ultimately, she wants to see all plastic straws banned on Pinellas County beaches like Miami did a few years ago.  

“I think if Miami Beach did it, Treasure Island certainly can," she said. “Animals ingest them. They become part of our food chain ... I’d like to see all the local beaches ban the use of plastic."

The Post Card Inn in St. Pete Beach faced a similar complaint last year and stopped putting straws in all drinks served near the beach.