On paper plates

On paper plates

28 Jan 2008

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

Maybe you can help settle this dispute between my husband and me. He likes to use paper plates for quick/short meals like toast in the morning, cheese and crackers in the evening, etc. He claims that he's saving energy by not having to wash a dish. (We have a new energy-efficient dishwasher and an on-demand hot water heater.) I say he's wasting paper unnecessarily, and besides, I hate seeing paper plates all over the place. What say you?

Katherine Griffin
Richmond, Calif.

Dearest Katherine,

You are the victim of my periodic tendency to think small stuff like this is no big deal. My periodic tendency attitude declares the situation a draw. I mean, you're right -- he is unnecessarily wasting paper, because you have plates already; and also why are you seeing paper plates all over the place? He leaves them behind after he uses them? If household roles are defined and you are the dish cleaner/tidier, then the well-known Driver Controls the Radio Rule comes into force, and you get to choose which dishes are used.

What if I start picking them up?

As regards the environment, ceramic plates are only as good as their lifespan. It takes energy and resources to make a ceramic plate, more than it takes to make a paper plate. Ceramics only win when they are used long and well. Which, let's be frank, is fairly easy with a plate (point in your favor). Also on your side, what's the point of laying out for a good dishwasher and on-demand hot water heater if you don't intend to use them?

You might be able to bring more data to the dispute, and bring the dispute to a new level, by learning about trash disposal (I assume you are not composting the plates), water availability, and the power grid in your area. Is solid waste a big problem near Richmond? Is there a drought or water shortage of any kind? What kind of energy powers your water heater -- coal? Natural gas? Hydro? Put the answers to all these questions together and you may have a better idea as to whether saving water and water-heating energy by using (recycled) paper plates might actually be a good idea. Perhaps the local solid-waste situation will be dire, and that will solve the problem.

Ask Umbra continues below

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On your husband's side, however, these objects are small and non-electronic, so they rank low on the eco-urgency scale. I permit you to lay aside this argument and move on to a new, fresh trivial argument of your choice. We all know that the trivial argument is what makes a household go 'round.

Cleanly,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (15 comments)

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Wendell Berry said it best...

"[There is] confusion about the body's proper involvement in the world. People seriously interested in health will finally have to question our society's long-standing goals of convenience and effortlessness. What is the point of 'labor saving' if by making work effortless we make it poor, and if by doing it poorly we weaken our bodies and lose conviviality and health."

Case and point: Wash your dishes by hand in a plugged sink with a few gallons of daily dishwashing water. Having extra water doesn't mean it's OK to waste it.

The "Life is Not Landscaping" post at Contrary Goddess has a good entry of this years drought that she endured: "You might can imagine how this adds time to tasks like washing dishes, even if you have the water already up here -- you have to heat it and set up the dish pan and two sinks and wash them from cleanest to dirtiest. I can do pretty much a whole day of dishes on about 3 gallons of water but it takes some coordination." -- http://contrarygoddess.blogspot.com/2007/10/life-isnt-lan ...

by Caylan at 9:57 AM on 28 Jan 2008

compostable paper plates

Katherine - check your local natural food store or co-op for biodegradable/compostable "paper" plates. Your husband won't see a difference in the plates, you can feel a little better about him not using regular dishes, and hopefully marital harmony will be preserved. Also, if he is using paper plates for little things like toast or cheese and crackers, maybe you can get him to use recycled paper towels, and skip the plate and water issue altogether. Best yet - tell him he can use paper plates every day if he is willing to ride his bike to work or for errands at least once a week. :)

by inkedbuddha at 12:06 PM on 28 Jan 2008

disappointing

What about the environmental cost of making those paper plates? Not just the trees cut to make the paper, but also the high environmental price of paper mills!

Or the spiritual cost of continuing to live a "disposable" life? Using paper plates does not contribute to one's development as an ecologically aware human being.

Nor does continually buying stuff - ceramic plates, dishwasher, paper plates . . .

As someone who's had to bathe in a 35-degree bathroom with a tiny amount of hot water, bring home buckets of water when our well was contaminated, and learned how to clean everything AND have enough drinking water with just those few buckets, I find this answer very disappointing.

Kellyann

by mskellyann at 1:33 PM on 28 Jan 2008

Allocating time well

As is often the case with these columns, the question arises of whether making these calculations is a sensible use of time. Even if you are willing to use 100% of your free time learning how to have a lower environmental impact, this may not be a good investment.

Time that would be spent researching paper plates could be used to research something with a much higher overall potential for harm reduction.

a sibilant intake of breath

by sindark at 1:33 PM on 28 Jan 2008

Making Paper Takes Lots of Water

Anyone (hubby, in this case)who advocates using paper plates to save water has never been to a paper mill. The paper manufacturing process uses LOTS of water. Making a single paper plate likely requires far more water than washing a durable plate.

by TrashTsar at 2:29 PM on 28 Jan 2008

NOT trivial, don't cop out here.

C'mon Umbra, don't cop out on this one, help us with the calculations. This is more than merely trivial. I am now teaching at my second private school (one on the East coast, one on the West), both of which used disposable plates, utensils, cups, etc., for the ENTIRE SCHOOL, filling dozens of garbage bags a day. And both of which claimed it was the environmentally best choice. One was on a septic system it said couldn't handle dishwater, the other uses compostable cellulose-based plates and utensils which are a complete joke. A science teacher has been trying to compost some potato cellulose-based spoons since September, and their still seem as solid as plastic.

I would really like to see SOMEONE do the full calculations on a per-person per-year basis for the disposable vs. washable decision:

I. Disposable
a) landfill acreage (ignore only if composting REALLY occurs).

b) tons of paper (plates/cups)

c) gallons of oil (plastic utensils and cups)

d) acres of farmland (compostable products).

c) energy requirements for processing (all products)

II. Washable

a) water usage (dishwashing and hand washing)

b) energy requirements for heating water

c) quantity of dish-soap

d) energy to treat dishwater (ignore if septic or greywater retrieval system).

e) mineral requirements for producing ceramic plates/cups/mugs, glasses, and metal utensils (assuming a 20-year average life span)

f) energy requirements for processing plates/utensils/etc. (assume a 20-year average life span).

Feel free to add anything I've missed.

by frw at 5:08 PM on 28 Jan 2008

Paper plates are just tacky.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

by spaceshaper at 6:15 PM on 28 Jan 2008

paper plates=lazy

why doesn't he just put his toast or sandwich on a CLOTH napkin, eat it and then wipe up the crumbs/spills with napkin. then he could take the napkin to the sink and let the crumbs go in the sink, or in the garbage/compost...

when I use a plate for a sandwich or something and it is not dirty, I actually put it in fridge for later use, keeps bugs off it. I reuse my water cup for a few days at a time, keeping it in fridge when not drinking out of it, and washing when I think it needs it. I also use a tea cup same way, putting in fridge when not needing it. I use the teabag about 2-5 times before tossing it to compost.

he is just being lazy and wasteful.

by jenlovestorecycle at 12:11 AM on 29 Jan 2008

Compostable is the way to go

Agreed, inkedbuddha - compostable plates are the way to go if you want/need to use disposable. They're not perfect (i.e. a spoon once melted in hot chili), but they'd definitely do the trick with the cheese and crackers or toast Katherine mentions. My organization buys them at what seems like rather reasonable rates at http://www.worldcentric.org

Also - I thought this post from The Jew & The Carrot blog on sustainable food packaging might be of interest:

http://jcarrot.org/bread-butter-and-a-reusable-lunchbox/

Leah
Editor, The Jew & The Carrot

by TheJewAndTheCarrot at 10:13 AM on 29 Jan 2008

Dear Abby,..I mean Dear Umbra,

I see that you were trying on some wit, referring to this question as a "household go' round" however, I believe we're in need of a more well thought out, researched answer to a serious question...I'm with frw, help us out with the calculations, make a true comparison.

Is this disposable habit and a sustainable one?

by girlsurfrider at 5:49 PM on 29 Jan 2008

What about toast quality?

In my experience, eating toast off of a paper plate is a much more satisfying experience. This is because hot toast on a regular plate causes condensation to occur under the toast, hence making the bottom half soggy. A paper plate allows the toast to retain all of that dry crunchiness we all know and love...

by Mfox at 9:40 AM on 01 Feb 2008

Paper Plates

We've gone from the sublime to the ridiculous on this topic. It DOES bear consideration from many angles but I will NOT eat my food from a paper plate - it smacks of laziness, lack of aesthetic sense and looks unappetizing.

I have had the same set of inexpensive Chinatown dishes for years and wash them by hand in a modicum of water and biodegrable all-purpose soap that washes everything from hands to laundry stains. How do I work out the initial energy expended on the manufacture of these porcelain dishes that I have used repeatedly for years and years? I must then factor in the energy saved by manually washing these dishes, etc., etc. (When they are chipped they instantly become drip plates for plants.)

Everyone's sense of what constitutes the acceptable 'green' life differs but for me, the Zen of food preparation, presentation and the consumption of carefully and responsibly grown food is also important. What are we eating from these plates? Love these discussions - they're very thought provoking.

by Lesleycarol at 12:40 PM on 01 Feb 2008

paper plates suck!

Toast in the morning?
Cheese and crackers?

What I do is use a regular plate, then rinse under the tap with cold water, then dry with a towel.

For my household, this is easier than using and paper plate and disposing of it. (We moved the garbage container out of the kitchen... this makes it harder to throw stuff out..)

by gerv at 6:41 PM on 03 Feb 2008

Paper plates are lame

I think it's OK if people use paper plates a few times a year for special occasions but several times a month is too much let alone several times a week.

Our disposable attitude is one of the cornerstones of our environmental mess.

by katakanadian at 9:41 PM on 03 Feb 2008

Paper vs. Ceramic plates

I agree that this response was a bit unhelpful. I found this site :
http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/pdfs/seeds_06/Paper%20vs%20Cera ...

where someone has done a study in canada for a restaurant. Quite an interesting read. The most interesting section in relation to environmental impact is :
".. assuming an average useful life of two years for each porcelain plate which is considerably conservative, using porcelain plates would still be a better choice in terms of global warming impact. "

Of course, they've made lots of assumptions, but at least they're all listed in the study.

by biks at 7:00 PM on 10 Feb 2008

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