They weren’t kidding.
So I guess it was going to happen sooner or later,
Dave gets trapped by the new state law
Lance Tormey told us he was coming and here he is and I just spent the last 40 minutes driving around with a Dairy Queen ice cream melting in a bag in the front seat of my car and me with no spoon.
I get it. The news reports were pretty clear.
A Washington state law that goes into effect Jan. 1 will prevent restaurants and other businesses from automatically including plastic utensils in takeout orders. It will also require customers to order straws and lids for most cold drinks.
The law aims to reduce the amount of waste that pollutes the environment. Applies to the following single-use utensils and other items:
- Utensils (knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks)
- Cocktail sticks, splash sticks and stirrers
- straws
- Condiment packets, sachets, or sauce cups
- Cold cup lids, except those provided at drive-thru windows or events with more than 2,500 people
Ask and you shall receive… or not
To be clear, this new law does not prohibit those items, but it does require customers to specifically request them. Laurie Davies, solid waste program manager for the Washington Department of Ecology:
The automatic inclusion of disposable cutlery, straws, and condiments in every order creates a lot of waste, much of which ends up littering our roads and harming our environment… This law encourages people to help reduce unnecessary waste.
It’s not coming and I didn’t see it coming
I’ll admit that most of my fast food takeout orders usually don’t require a fork, but rather a straw. Yes. And for the first 18 days of the month, every drink order I placed came with a straw and without me having to ask. I guess I was lulled into a false sense of security by the utensils.
I ordered the delicious 3 piece chicken strip lunch today at the Airy Queen in West Valley, and as I walked away I realized I didn’t have a straw. Simple mistake, I thought. “Anyone who works on the window could make that kind of mistake,” I mused. The iron grip of the new law never crossed my mind. The mistake was mine.
away I went. The food was excellent with just the right amount of salt, crunch and flavour. Rate it 9 out of 10. (larger strips please!) Then I opened the bag for dessert, the Pièce de résistance, the strawberry sundae, only to find that while the sundae was there, the spoon. was not.
Shock and Awe – Shucks
First answer: how on earth can you sell something that requires a spoon to eat but then doesn’t provide the spoon? (Washington politics, that’s right) I was upset, maybe even a little angry.
And then I realized.
I was the victim of a new law, supposedly passed for my own good. Soup or ice cream, if you don’t ask, you don’t get a spoon. Did I whisper a sigh of relief for the environment? Unfortunately I didn’t. Did I use a few choice words to seal a life lesson learned? Maybe I did.
Dairy Queen does it right
Bottom line: Good for the crew at the Dairy Queen. You did your job with the new book and I apologize for any momentary dairy queen thoughts I sent you.
Luckily I had a spoon at work (lots of them) and I guess that’s the point. So ultimately no harm no foul with a 3 piece bird and no spoon. Lesson learned hump hump.
It’s a brave new world without farmyard sporks, but we have to face it because Dairy Queen already has them and they’re out there and defending mother earth’s line.
Enjoy your meal!
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