To get a better handle on the city’s ongoing rat problem, starting this week, every food-related business across the five boroughs will be required to place their trash bags in rigid containers instead of the street.

The city’s plan, however, is being viewed as well-intentioned but not necessarily well thought out by many restaurant owners.

Jeremy Wladis, president and CEO of the Restaurant Group, which operates Nina’s Great Burrito Bar, Big Gay Ice Cream and several other dining spots on the Upper West Side, cited the increased operating costs among his concerns.

“We like the idea of trying to protect our city from mice and rats and the garbage and everything else,” said Wladis. “There needed to be more communication with the restaurants as to how to do this. It’s not a good look. It’s not a good [feeling]. It’s not a good idea the way it’s set up.”

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, said in a statement: “We support containerizing trash everywhere it’s feasible, but the Department of Sanitation’s mandate is impractical and creates big problems for many small restaurants that will have to store big dirty garbage cans in their food preparation and customer seating areas or leave thousands of trash containers permanently strewn on sidewalks across the city.”

Several outdoor diners, including some who were sitting right next to a dumpster, told NY1 as long as the city provided assistance for the restaurants to make these improvements, they were all for it.

“In my opinion, yes, I am right next to a dumpster,” said Maddy Nguyen, an Upper West Side resident. “The smell would be much worse if it was just in bags being left out.”

“I think it’s great to clean up the streets a little bit,” said Megan McReynolds, a Harlem resident, “Have the trash kinda put away somewhere nicely, that’s not in the way of people getting in the way of what we are doing.”

“It sounds like a good idea to me because the rat problem is significant in the city and anything we can do to combat that is great,” said Shawn Sprecker, a Chelsea resident.

Starting Monday, restaurants and food delivery places will also be at risk of receiving a warning if they send plastic utensils and other items to take out customers who didn’t ask for them.

It’s part of a city rule that is aimed at decreasing plastic waste that is generated by restaurants.

Fines for that new rule won’t take effect until July of next year.