Maker Of Iconic Red Plastic Solo Party Cup Announces Layoffs In RivCo
CORONA, CA — Dart Container Corporation, the maker of the classic red plastic party cup — Solo cup — is laying off employees at two California facilities, according to separate filings made last month with the state.
The company will permanently cut 75 employees at its Corona facility, 150 N. Maple Street, and another 75 people are receiving pink slips at the company’s Lodi location, 1400 E. Victor Road. According to state “Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)” filings required under law, the Northern California plant is permanently closing.
The layoffs take effect just before Christmas, on Dec. 23.
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The downsizing has been ongoing at the company. In September, Dart cut about 250 employees, most of whom worked at the company’s Mason, Michigan, corporate headquarters, local news media reported. In a statement released at the time, Dart CEO Keith Clark, said, “Growth in the packaging industry has stagnated post-pandemic.”
Other media outlets have reported that California law restricting the use of plastic and polystyrene foam containers is a reason behind the Golden State cuts. In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54), which requires producers to cut single-use plastic waste and ensure the packaging products they sell are recyclable or compostable.
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In addition to the red Solo cup made famous in frat party movies, Dart manufactures a range of plastic and foam containers, as well as plastic cutlery and cup lids.
The red Solo cup — a keg party staple for decades — has switched from a round to a square bottom (see photo above), and there is much online chatter about the receptacle’s prominence in America. Reddit threads from apparent overseas’ posters wonder if the red cups are for real after seeing them star in movies about U.S. frat life — think beer pong, flip cup, and 2007’s “American Pie Presents: Beta House.”
The late, great country star Toby Keith even sang the cup’s praises in his 2011 ditty, “Red Solo Cup” …
Now, red Solo cup is the best receptacle
For barbecues, tailgates, fairs, and festivals
And you, sir, do not have a pair of testicles
If you prefer drinking from glass
Hey, red Solo cup is cheap and disposable
And in 14 years, they are decomposable
And unlike my home, they are not foreclosable
Freddy Mac can kiss my ass
Following Keith’s death in February, hundreds of fans announced online that they planned to fill their red Solo cups and raise them in the star’s memory.
For its part, Dart said in a statement honoring the singer, “We were honored that Toby chose the iconic Solo cup as a sign of good times, and we extend our sympathies to all those who are mourning him today.”
The Solo brand started in 1936 when Leo Hulseman — a former Dixie Co. employee — began making disposable paper drinking cones. In the 1970s, Leo’s son invented the plastic cup that became synonymous with Solo. It was first released in red but is now offered in multiple colors.
Dart Container Corp. bought Illinois-based Solo Cup Co. in 2012, and there is no indication the recognizable red cup is going away. Quite the opposite. Dart claims Solo remains “one of the best-selling party cups in America today.”
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