Going green, need opinions

[L33T35T Tacoma]

I've asked several of my family members and friends, and we cant decide, what is more "green"?

Next time I sit down for dinner at my house, should we use paper plates so we don't have to use any of our precious water supply? Or should I use regular washable plates, using water, but not creating any paper waste, saving a tree?

Vote!

[Scuba]

In all honesty, I realized I waste alot of water when I wash dishes by just leaving the faucet on and not filling the sink...
Thats something I will start with..
That might be something to take up.


:bling:

[DHC6twinotter]

My vote goes to just using water to wash plates, especially if it's just one person. If you already are using water to wash pots, pans, and glasses, then a bit more for some plates probably won't make much difference. If you use the fill the sink with water method, then you aren't using any extra water at all.

Plus, if you wash the plates, you save money on both paper plates and trash bags. That's probably the biggest deal for me.

Back in school, I would just wash my plate and fork after each use, and it never took long--maybe 5 minutes. I think letting the water run to wash dishes used by one person also uses less water than filling up a sink. :D

Now I had a roommate that hated to wash dishes, so all he used were paper plates, cups, and utensils. It filled the trash can up quick, which kinda got aggravating since he never took out the trash. :confused: :hillbill:

Just my $.02.

[oly884]

Well, let's look at a few things. Are droughts bad in your area? Are the paper plates, cups, etc coming from a tree farm, or from deforestation?

The reason I say is this is that it depends on your region. If water is a commodity and droughts are rare or nonexistent then use water, however, if droughts are common, use paper.

Food for thought, trees are a carbon sink, they suck the carbon out of the air and turn it into the stuff that makes our houses and the plates you use. So, if there are tree farms, you're creating a need for more tree farms, which means more trees are planted meaning more carbon is being sucked from the air.

Also, paper plates can be used as heat (fireplace) to offset energy bills, while it would most likely be negligible, you are, in a sense, recycling. Or if you have the option to recycle, then you can do that with paper plates and or cups.

[Scuba]

Oly makes a good point, And acutally here in so cal were about to get below our normal water level..and droughts are commonplace during summer...

[Erich_870]

I vote washing plates in water is greener.

Just look at how each option is created:

Paper plates are made by logging with diesel vehicles, then trucked to a mill, logs are chipped, then shipped to a paper plant. The amount of energy used to make paper is HUGE! Not to mention the chemicals. Then you package and ship them by truck where they go to a store. You drive to the store to pick them up and drive home.

Normal plates are made of ceramic, so you have the mining of the raw materials, the processing, the firing in a kiln. Then shipment by truck to the store. This is where the two options stop the similarities.

While water is a precious resource, typically it does not require very much energy per unit to produce. If wells are used, there is the electricity, and some used in the processing into potable water, but after that the system is all gravity. If you live near a water tower, there are pumps, but those are very efficient.

If you were to capture your grey water, then you'd make washing your plates even greener.

Lastly, you have the energy needed to collect your garbage, including your paper plates.

Way greener to wash your plates in water even if you were trucking in your water.

Erich

[MTL_4runner]

I vote washing plates in water is greener.

Just look at how each option is created:

Paper plates are made by logging with diesel vehicles, then trucked to a mill, logs are chipped, then shipped to a paper plant. The amount of energy used to make paper is HUGE! Not to mention the chemicals. Then you package and ship them by truck where they go to a store. You drive to the store to pick them up and drive home.

Normal plates are made of ceramic, so you have the mining of the raw materials, the processing, the firing in a kiln. Then shipment by truck to the store. This is where the two options stop the similarities.

While water is a precious resource, typically it does not require very much energy per unit to produce. If wells are used, there is the electricity, and some used in the processing into potable water, but after that the system is all gravity. If you live near a water tower, there are pumps, but those are very efficient.

If you were to capture your grey water, then you'd make washing your plates even greener.

Lastly, you have the energy needed to collect your garbage, including your paper plates.

Way greener to wash your plates in water even if you were trucking in your water.

Erich


X2

That's a no brainer IMHO......Good post on being green Erich!

[CJM]

I use paper plates a bit and reuse them till I eat something on them thats messy. Same goes for regular ceramic plates, dont wash them off till they get dirty.

Then again I eat alot of sandwiches which only make bread crumbs (which I save lol).

[4runnerchevy]

I just let the wife decide, after all its womens work :flipoff:

[fustercluck]

Unless the paper plates are from recycled materials, then a tree had to be removed to supply the raw materials. That tree actually creates/provides more benefit alive than dead if it's purpose is for consumable products.

Water eventually is purified either by the natural cycles of ecology or by municipal facilities. It is never destroyed it nearly always comes back purified. In your case, it always comes back purified through natural cycles.

There are ways to wash dishes with very little water. When we go camping, we scrub the dishes with dirt first. The soil absorbes the grease/moisture and scoures the chunks of food away. At that point, depending on how squeemish one is, the dish can simply be rinsed of the dust and put away.

At home we wash dishes with the water running at a trickle while the sink is plugged. By the time they are done there is only a couple of gallons used...about as much as a toilet flush. We do this not because we are too poor to pay for water, but believe in the stewardship of wise use of natural resources. We are green too, but are also reasonable.

[L33T35T Tacoma]

Awesome posts everybody, a much bigger response than I had expected

Thanks :thumbup:

[Good Times]

I would say living in california it would definitely spur a bigger debate considering how much of a drought we're experiencing. But regardless of the drought issue we face here, the sheer fact that you're comparing which is greener really places the edge on the washing method.

Btw just shower and wash dishes at the same time! hahaha jk

[Erich_870]

Btw just shower and wash dishes at the same time! hahaha jk


If you start cooking in there too, you'll have to change your name to Kramer :rofl:

Erich

[DHC6twinotter]

Btw just shower and wash dishes at the same time! hahaha jk


If you start cooking in there too, you'll have to change your name to Kramer :rofl:

Erich


Some folks in other countries just shower with their clothes on. No need to have a washing machine. :D