Oyster Fest Resorts to Plastic Cups After Snafu

arcata bay oysterfest logo black and whitePress release from Arcata Main Street:

Every year, the team at Arcata Main Street strives to put on the best Oyster Festival possible. As members of this community, we know and understand how deep these roots go and how important this event is for our City.

This year, to be as zero waste as possible, the Arcata Main Street team purchased aluminum cups instead of the traditional steel cups that we all know from Oyster Festivals past. We decided that this option would be better as these cups are 100% recyclable and made from post-consumer aluminum. We are also aware that people have many past festival cups taking up space in their cupboards and pantries.

Due to supply chain and customs issues, these cups will not be arriving in time for the festival on June 10th. We only learned how dire the situation was on Monday, and have quite literally done everything in our power in an attempt to make these cups show up on time. It’s simply not going to happen. Needless to say, the team over here at Arcata Main Street is extremely disappointed with this situation, but the show must go on.

We have a contingency plan that was approved in conjunction with Arcata City officials. Since our county is unable to process bio-plastics, we will be purchasing plastic cups locally to be used at the Oyster Fest on June 10th. This is obviously not the situation we wanted to be in, however we do have plans to mitigate the waste and make sure all the plastic is collected, sorted, and sent to the appropriate recycling facilities. Zero Waste Humboldt is handling refuse and compost collection and we do not expect the festival operations to be impacted by this development.

The only plastic that is being used at the festival will be the beer cups. Our amazing food vendors have gone above and beyond and removed all plastic from their operations for Oyster Fest and we couldn’t be more appreciative.

We encourage everyone to bring an Oyster Festival Cup from previous years, or any non-glass

pint-sized cup, to keep our plastic consumption as low as possible. We will be honoring the

$0.25 refund on purchases to anyone who brings a reusable cup to the festival.

We appreciate your understanding and we thank our entire business community for their support.

Keep on shuckin’ Humboldt!

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23 Comments
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Jepson
Guest
Jepson
9 months ago

It will be ok…take a deep breath. Recycle the plastic cups. The ghost of AOC promises not to haunt you.

Strike 3
Guest
Strike 3
9 months ago
Reply to  Jepson

Yaaaa! I mean they only had 364 days to plan this thing! (Haven’t been in the last decade…love that they confirm my excellent decision making annually)

Farce
Guest
Farce
9 months ago

So you made all the vendors do what you couldn’t do? You mandated that they jump through all your hoops and then you will be handing out hundreds of plastic cups? Classic Arcata! At least the dioxin cleanup of the bay will continue at Line Fest. Stuff those dioxin-laced snotballs into the tourists and everybody get way drunk!! “We are Progressives and We Care”!!!

Clownville
Guest
Clownville
9 months ago
Reply to  Farce

33rd year huh..? Uhhhhhh…maybe they’ll figure it out next year! 😂 Put a tent on that Circus!

Zipline
Guest
Zipline
9 months ago

Morons in arcata.

Farce
Guest
Farce
9 months ago
Reply to  Zipline

What’s funny is they issued a press release calling attention to their moronity! I guess they think they’re “being transparent” but it’s just showing their lack of media acuity…lol

Clear as Mud
Guest
Clear as Mud
9 months ago
Reply to  Farce

I think the cups were transparent…

Sandy Beaches
Guest
Sandy Beaches
9 months ago

Will there be a container charge for the cups?

The Unpopular Opinion
Guest
The Unpopular Opinion
9 months ago

All the cups are made in China anyway, I imagine. And unless things have changed, the bay oysters are still fed off unfiltered overflow from Arcata’s sewage treatment facility (paying the fines was always cheaper than funding the necessary expansion).

Bon Appétit!!

Last edited 9 months ago
Snorkel
Guest
Snorkel
9 months ago

Oh, poo.

5150
Guest
5150
9 months ago

Supply chain glitch? Call US secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg for a quick fix……
…….never mind he’s busy raising “his” children.

tru matters
Guest
tru matters
9 months ago
Reply to  5150


“West Coast ports shut down as union workers ‘no show’ after breakdown in wage negotiations”
PUBLISHED FRI, JUN 2 20232:12 PM EDTUPDATED FRI, JUN 2 20236:52 PM EDT

c u 2morrowD
Member
9 months ago
Reply to  tru matters

last week didn’t effect this weeks event

Old SchoolD
Member
9 months ago

This is just awful.j

tru matters
Guest
tru matters
9 months ago
Reply to  Old School

It shucks alright.

The Real Guest
Guest
The Real Guest
9 months ago

Poor planning…

16 oz paper Eco cups are available by the thousand for less than $0.08 each.

Last edited 9 months ago
Pass that j
Guest
Pass that j
9 months ago

It smells like Arcata Main St is attempting to greenwash the sheep. The ability does not exist nearby to recycle plastic cups with polyethylene. Keep it real and state the plastics are bound for the landfill.

Solar BozoD
Member
Solar Bozo
9 months ago

Plastic cups that are so hard to recycle that they will still likely end up in a landfill, whether in the U. S. or somewhere in Asia.

Zipline
Guest
Zipline
9 months ago
Reply to  Solar Bozo

As long as it’s not our back yard. arcata = Nimbyism.

c u 2morrowD
Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Solar Bozo

are you a casual visitor here now ?

tru matters
Guest
tru matters
9 months ago

Now they will be stuck with all these aluminum cups when they do arrive.
“Does anybody know where I can get rid of 10,000 aluminum cups.? Well yes I do, just take them out to Hwy 61.”
Ripped off from Bob Dylan.

Last edited 9 months ago
Diamond
Guest
9 months ago

It’s an Oyster Fest yet our biggest concern is about BEER cups? I used to love the Oyster Fest…sampling the different grilled oysters and sauces; listening to the oyster calling contest; enjoying the dancers and music. Now there are more beer trucks than any other vender. It’s turned into the biggest KEGGER in Humboldt! I attended 3 years ago and I’ve never seen so many drunks in one place…all wandering, stumbling, acting a fool. So I’m saying, “No thank you to the Oyster Fest (aka Beer Fest)! I def have better things to do.

Last edited 9 months ago
Renee
Guest
Renee
9 months ago

I didn’t see a problem with not enough aluminium cups there during attendance. There was a HUGE issue with the lack of trash cans/recycle bins for all the other items that weren’t made of aluminum. (And a lack of actual oyster booths) It was sadly, more beer/wine, than actual oysters.