On aluminum foil:

Reusable, certainly.  I try to keep pieces of foil from getting below the size needed to bake a potato, but if they do, I save them to hang from tree limbs to keep the birds away from my cherries, blueberries (at least, after they've had a few, I hate to be a complete Grinch).

I also only use the Heavy Duty variety of foil.  The thin stuff just tears too easily.  The HD foil seems to take a beating with more grace.  The extra expense is minimal when you reuse it again and again and again . . .

If your recycling authority doesn't accept foil, here's a way to get around that:  clean the foil, fold or roll in and insert it in an aluminum can on it's way to the recycling center!  It will get there and get to the proper pot for re-melting and recasting.

GayLee

Foil, poo I say.  Why use foil?  Griller generally grill and smokers generally smoke, neither need us foil.  If one must braise and this is the best approach for tough cuts of meat, try the oven using a temperature of 225 putting the spare ribs in a cake pan with the braising liquid covered with a cookie sheet.  Then after the internal temperature reaches 160, approx 2.5 hours, take them out and finish on the grill as you would toast bread.  

I agree with your first blogger...why use it in the first place? There's plenty of ways to wrap your food and cook it without using foil...I'm sure you've all heard of the technique used for the classic "New England Clam bake"...where everything (including the hot coals) is wrapped in seaweed (or, dare we get modern, with wet burlap?) and buried!  C'mon, be creative!  Leave the skins on corn (peal em down, spray with your favorite oil then re-cover) and voila!  Soak the potatoes likewise, and if you enjoy the skin, wrap in a natural leaf (banana leaves are gigantic, and you can always try cabbage or lettuce), bury in the coals for a while, unwrap and enjoy!.
P.S. Even when you put the foods away, why hide em with foil? Try plastic wrap (much easier to clean and recycle) or better yet, re-use all those plastic and glass containers we get everything overpackaged in!.  Oh...and haven't they found high levels of Aluminum in the blood of Altimer's victims?  Hmmmmmmmmmessage there!

Aluminum is a toxic metal, and no one should have it wrapped around the food they are going to eat. Metals which get into the body suppress the immune system and settle in vital organs.
Anne Caputi
Newton MA
9 year survivor of breast cancer and professional health consultant.

If you are feeding children, you would not want to serve them potatoes in their skins unless cleaning up is a joy trip for you.  You do not have to rely on aluminum foil either.

I use only boiled potatoes that I salvaged from my soup.  Meshed them up with a little salt before I place them in sauce dishes.  Top that up with cheese and microwave.  This way, everyone is clean, satiated and happy.

No Soup no Mesh? Have not got a name for this thrifty recipe yet.  Enjoy.

GreenBeing Nancy