Comments on: Kid cups in restaurants… disposables? Really?

By: Diana

Diana — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:19:12 +0000

I was researching cups for my restaurant and ran across a product from http://www.acmepartybox.com. It is a 8 ounce glass mason jar with a hole for the straw in the top of a screw on lid. The size is small enough for a child to use and we can wash and reuse them over and over. Pricey as 42.00 for 12 but if they get broken I can just replace the jar and recycle the glass.

By: AJ

AJ — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:40:32 +0000

Hi, my company (The Family Hospitality Group) manufactures products like kids cups and crayons under the Classy Kid brand name. We can make these any which way, but the cost often gets very high very fast when the best new materials are used. I would like to ask everyone reading this for your thoughts about the ideal disposable (i.e. guaranteed sanitary) kids cup material. There are some nice corrugated paper cups that are easy to grip. There are PLA-coated papers. There are starch-based plastics. Then there’s the old standard rugged polypropylene recyclable cup. Parents and restaurant personnel only, please!

We probably can’t change an industry ourselves but we can try! With a good design, good value, and years of pushing we can at least make a dent. Thanks in advance!

By: Doreen

Doreen — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:51:27 +0000

Samuel – I understand your points completely, especially the need for cups with lids, but my point is also to make a suitable choice that is also eco-friendly. These heavy plastic cups that restaurants use are most often made of unrecyclable plastics that will live-on in landfills for hundreds upon hundreds of years contaminating soil and water. If they are expensive wouldn’t it be comparable in cost to choose biodegradable cups like those made of corn and other plant based materials? Consider these http://www.webstaurantstore.com/sub256/products/green-recycled-and-biodegradable-plastic-cold-cups.html or these http://www.f-k.com/index.php?option=com_content2&task=view&id=185&Itemid=74&cat=74 They seem to meet your criteria but don’t create an environment problem. Thoughts? And truly, as a restaurant owner, thanks for your comments!

By: Samuel

Samuel — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:49:53 +0000

Okay, I own a couple family pizza joints…

1. My cups are not branded… so its not about Marketing…
2. Do you all realize that these things are ridiculously expensive… any restaurant that didn’t have to buy them would gladly not do so, myself included.
3. They provide a service – moms, who don’t bring their own (not a reality on which you could count on… but we would love it) appreciate something that prevents spills and is small enough that the child doesn’t pour it in their lap.
4. They save me thousands of $ a year in carpet cleaning… and believe me parents that have kids that trash your restaurant almost never tip appropriately…
5. Using washable kid cups is an option but not a good one… they all look so beat up and disgusting after a few uses… and as a parent I will admit that it just feels cleaner when my kids get something I know has not been used before… I have a 2 and 3 year old… we only use glass at home so I hate plastic…

By: Jennie

Jennie — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:05:58 +0000

I just opened a new vegetarian restaurant and am struggling with this. I want it to be as green as possible. I haven’t gotten these cups and have some staff who think they are essential. We’ve had a few spilled milks as a result of not having them. The solution I was going to try to engineer was a plastic reuseable glass (like a pizza hut soda glass thingie) with a disposable top that you can put a straw in. I saw them at the restaurant supply store. This setup is used for hospitals and nursing homes mostly, I guess. I didn’t do it yet because getting a case of just the lids was expensive and it was a case of 2000. It would take us a long time to go through that many. Might try to hook up with another restaurant to see if they want to go in on a case together. Anyway, I’m glad people are thinking about this issue. I just happened onto this site because I was searching for a solution!

By: Doreen

Doreen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:14:05 +0000

Chuck – I sure don’t need more!

Chris – thanks for the insider insight!

Jessica – that sounds like a great alternative!

Leah & Marie – I absolutely respect that both of you make great use out of the cups you are given, but my concern is that for every one of “you”, there are probably a hundred moms who end up tossing them out or leaving them behind, only to have them turn into waste! But, please, keep up the great “reuse!”

By: Marie

Marie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:56:04 +0000

I for one have been very grateful for the kids cups. First of all, it makes my kids feel special to be given their own special cupin restaurants. Secondly, having these cups at home has kept me from having to buy small cups for the kids. My six year old is too big for a sippy cup, but is a bit clutzy so the lids are very helpful. My three year old feels like a big boy when he to gets to use a “big kid” cup, which I couldn’t let him do if I didn’t have the cups with lids. When I started to get cups in excess, I stored some of them, and use them as replacements when a cup cracks, or gets really cruddy looking. The kids enjoy having a variety to choose from, and I enjoy having less messes to clean up.

By: Leah

Leah — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:27:46 +0000

i would love to buy some of these cups. right now I use the take and toss but I got a cup from Olive Garden and i loved it. i loved the size, the straw part and the sturdiness of it. And that if it got nasty i could throw it away. We have a new puppy and well she got a hold of my precious olive garden cup. i wish we ate out more so i could just get the cups.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:02:31 +0000

Tupperware makes absolutely terrific alternatives to resteraunt waste with their flat out bowl that can be put in your purse for left overs or the dripless tumblers for the kiddos. With their lifetime gaurantee it makes it very cost effective also.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:31:57 +0000

I actually work in the industry (23 years) that makes plastic kids cups so here’s some insight. Yes it has a lot to do with marketing. The cup it’s self is a walking billboard for the restaurant but restaurant operators are also very focused on their guests experience. Anything they can do to engage and entertain the little ones increases the overall dining experience for everyone. This is why you typically see placemats with games printed on them, crayons, coloring books, toys etc, it’s for the enhanced dining experience. The practical side of plastic kids cups for the restaurant operator is a reduction of spills, portion control and elimination of glassware breakage, all of which lead to operational savings, which in turn helps keep menu prices down for the consumer. The practical side for the consumer is really good, you get a reusable cup to use again and again for your kids. Injected-molded (the heavier ones) cups are made from polypropelyene which is very recyclable. Also over the years the industry has done a lot to reduce the amount of plastic container in each cup, they’ve been down-gauged. Plastic manufacturing in general is also very energy efficient and has a low carbon footprint as compared to other substrates. Bottom line, the objectives of “recycle – reduce – reuse” is acheived with these types of cups. So my advice to others is, take advantage of the opportunity, take the “free cup” home, “reuse” it a number of times (top rack diswasher safe) and at the end of the products usefulness “recycle” it by putting it in recycling bin. All in all a “green” value proposition. Cheers!