We need to talk about the plastic cup situation in the OKC Metro.
I know a few months ago (Maybe it was a year ago? I don't know, time is a flat circle and also it's almost 2020 so what the hell?) there was a picture that went local viral of someone loading up the top rack of a dishwasher with the plastic cups from places like Hideaway and Eskimo Joe's. I can't remember what the text said, but it was such a relatable image.
We all have too many plastic cups from restaurants.
If you don't have them from Fuzzy's Tacos, then you have them from Rudy's Bar-B-Q, or you have them from O'Connell's. And now, you can have them from Notorious P.I.E.
(Side note: Notorious P.I.E. is the new pizza restaurant from Hal Smith Restaurant Group in Downtown Norman. It's good, but gives you the overall feeling that Hal Smith, clad in a Hawaiian shirt, went to Empire in the Plaza once, and decided to steal that concept, but also wanted to give a general 1990s City Bites vibe as well. Notorious P.I.E. is just like every HSRG joint, so the servers are so far up your ass the whole time that you can taste them more than the food. This is a concept that works well at Norman's west side Louie's, just because those mile of cars salesmen really like the attention from the Louie's girls. It's pretty irritating otherwise.)
Anyway, this post is about the absurd amount of plastic cups that you can get at restaurants.
I know you don't have to take them. And I try not to. I don't need them, and if we're being real, that plastic is not the best way to hold a beverage. There's no temperature control, and they take up too much space in a cabinet.
And in the end, it's more plastic that doesn't need to be manufactured. Sure, maybe you don't take them, but a lot of people do. And those cups leave the restaurant and wind up cracked and in the trash. Or people treat them as if they're disposable and don't mind tossing them in a trashcan because they can get a new one next time they go out.
We know these plastics don't biodegrade. We know that these just break down into smaller and smaller pieces. And I know that most Oklahomans don't care about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but do you care about how much plastic shit gets washed into your yard after a rain? Seriously. Take a walk through your neighborhood or nearby park and tell me you don't have a plastic problem.
And to be clear, I'm not saying we can't use plastic cups. Use them. But do it responsibly. Stop making cups that people can take, and just do the environment a solid by using those pebbled clear red plastic cups that they have at Mazzio's. Those are great. They hold liquids! Then the restaurant washes them and reuses them.
It's a great system.
To conclude, stop making those branded plastic cups. That's probably a huge cost for a restaurant owner, and it just creates waste. And definitely don't use plastic utensils like those pictured above. If someone at HSRG needs me to show them where they keep the restaurant silverware at the Norman Sam's Club, I'm happy to meet you there. Then, the gang of servers who stop by the table one by one and try to pre-bus my half-eaten pizza slice can take turns washing the silverware instead of harassing the customers to make sure everything is great.
