To think using paper plates is the height of lazy.

[TheDarkHouse]

I keep seeing reels and videos of people, mostly (if not all) Americans serving up dinner on either polystyrene plates or paper plates.

AIBU to think that’s laziness/time saving/convenience too far? Most videos these people have decent kitchens so presumably can house a dishwasher. Not that hard, nor time consuming to stack plates.

Disposable tableware for day to day dining seems the height of laziness.

US family KNOW they aren’t recyclable - I asked and they said no because of the plastic coating. The literally don’t give a shit, but then they have just bought their DD a SUV for her 16th which means a family of 4 now own 4 m x SUVs ( 2 of them are 7 seaters) all living in the one house so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they use paper and plastic plates, and drink only single use bottled water.

Landfill generates methane, which is a greenhouse gas. There are also not enough disused quarries for us to create endless waste. If you're rinsing and scraping the plates you might as well wash up properly.

I also can't work out how people can tolerate using flimsy disposable plates. Eating is less pleasurable from a piece of thin card than it is from proper crockery. I also don't like drinking water out of a plastic bottle, it tastes weird.

It is lazy and that's the point. No one has ever died eating from a paper plate. I use to judge a family member for this but you know now, I do the same sometimes. Who has time to wash dishes every single day 😂.

Who has time to wash dishes every single day

Eh? Washing up is a perfectly normal daily chore.

Exactly. And trying to cut food up with a plastic knife, nope!

Being lazy here means eating my lunch off the unwashed plate from my breakfast toast, not grabbing something disposable.

If the helps you sleep at night…..

Honestly, I’m glad I won’t have children alive to see the shit show everyone thinks it’s ok.

🤦🏽‍♀️
You are completely missing the point. Obviously no one knows who is or isn’t disabled in a way which means they need paper plates.
The posters are talking about general propositions about paper plate use, not talking about judging specific individuals for their actions.

I live in Virginia. One of my greatest pleasures is entertaining family and friends. It is an opportunity use all of my lovely china and serveware. Daily, I use regular crockery. For outdoor barbeques, it is paper plates.

You are seeing lots of them because you watch them so TikTok will serve up more of what you watch.

That does not equate to "Americans all use paper plates", it just means "TheDarkHorse watches TikToks of Americans using paper plates".

I watched a video of someone changing a radiator valve recently, resulting in a lengthy feed of people changing radiator valves and similar. Perhaps I should assume that all Brits are regularly changing radiator valves.

Paper plates for children parties only. I have no idea how these Americans can use them during regular evening family dinners. Appalling.

I'm from the US originally and have never seen this except in places selling pizza by the slice (sometimes two stapled together to keep the slice hot) or at a large barbecue.
My parents would use real plates for parties even before they had a dishwasher!

I wonder how many of you walk about clutching your Pret/Starbucks/Nero disposable coffee cups.

I beg to be different. If you're going down that line of thinking, then surely it is bad we all use toilet paper as well. That all gets flushed down the toilet and is not recycled. We could have bidets and not use toilet paper at all. Using toilet paper and using paper plates are two sides of the same coin.

Don't be so ridiculous @DonnaBanana

Some Americans do use paper plates for family dinners.

Well obviously… nobody is going to carry a china mug around a city. At home is a very different matter - you don’t need safe, disposable convenience there.

Nope, I don't do that either.

Ah so it's OK to do terrible things for the environment when it's convenient to you for your own reasons, but not when other people do convenient things for their reasons?

The hypocrisy on this thread is laughable.

This isn’t the gotcha you think it is. Loo roll disintegrates and breaks down in the sewer, food residue/grease on paper plates (often made with a plastic film too) often can not be recycled and don’t break down like loo roll does. But yes, doesn’t mean you need to shove a huge wedge of it down the pipes if not needed.

Plus some cultures use a lota rather than loo roll.

When did I say it was convenient to me for my own reasons? Would you like me to head to my local Caffè Nero + Costa and demand that they stop using disposable cups because MN said so? Get a grip

There is absolutely no good reason to be using disposable cups, cutlery or plates at home. If you can somehow justify that then you have an issue with severe laziness.

Pretty much everyone I know

Toilet paper has no plastic coating and therefore biodegrades, all solid matter will get sieved out at the sewage treatment works and either used as fertiliser or used to generate energy.

My parents have reusable cups with lids.

Firstly, never.
Secondly, an occasional paper cup is not the same as using paper plate at home which have an easy to use and cheap alternative.

Which is great until you’re left walking around with a dirty cup that you can’t store in your bag without leaking old coffee everywhere