Paper plates or glass plates?

Question

Is it better on the environment to eat on paper plates and throw them out, or glass plates, but continuosly wash them with water and soap?

Answer 1

glass...i think

my guess is that the soap will biodegrade much easier, and water is a renewable resource, constantly purified through the cycle of evaporation. Paper plates also biodegrade, but at a much slower rate. Never use styrofoam.

Answer 2

Use paper plates because they decompose back into nutrients for other plants.

Answer 3

Jello plates

Answer 4

I don't know about what is better for the environment but it depends on the occasion which to use.  Everyday eating use paper.  To save time cleaning use glass.

Answer 5

paper plates as they can be recycled and used again. but glass plates on washing produces in turn more polution

Answer 6

Remember  the three R's;

Reduce..................... consumption...

Reuse......... everything as many times as possible...  (recycle)

Refuse.........to use products and systems that are known to    be bad for the planet....

Now ask yourself how much energy is used to make paper plates that are thrown away and all the industrial processes, transportation and disposal cause and effect issues they create.

Now ask yourself the same kind of questions about a glass plate... if you didn't break it, could you use the same plate for a life time?

Then we could get into quality of product as a sustainable concept, it relates to this issue because there are too many disposable products vs ones that might not only last a life time, but for generations or even close to forever...

Answer 7

it obviosly better to use glass plates because each time u use a paper plate it takes a small piece of a tree

Answer 8

It depends on the value of the sustainable resources. If you are worried about washing your dishes there are water conservation actions you can take that would reduce the amount of water you use. Water will replenish, where is it going to go. If you are questioning the sustainability of the trees that make the paper plate? There has been sustainable forestry going on to address how our paper goods are made. Then there is the question of landfills. The availability of land and the breakdown of goods.  So, you need to decide which wagon you want to jump on: water conservation, sustainable resources, landscape planning and development. You should also throw in some politics because that's all any of this comes down to anyway!

Throwing paper plates into the fire increases air pollution, probably violates burning bans, and not to mention the toxicity of the materials in the plate that aren't necessarily paper. If everyone used paper plates and threw them in the fire we'd have massive smog you wouldn't be able to breath the air and if you did the toxicity would kill you.