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.

Making paper uses huge amounts of water.

Those who use paper plates on a regular basis, do you also use other disposables? Cups, bowls, glasses, cutlery? If not, why is it so hard to wash a plate when you wash everything else?

I find that the box my pizza came in serves as a perfectly adequate plate 🤷

My USA family do this an especially for events or when people or staying. We went for a week at Xmas and didn’t see a real plate! It was all festive paper plates and Solo cups, immensely wasteful.
even our kids were questioning it. And when we tried to reside the plastic coated plates they mocked us!

Reuse the plates… it was one meal, one plate or bowl then bin!
even on Xmas day.

Why would pans and cups be involved?

Usually its a toastie or a sandwich or similar and I fill my water bottle up.

What I don't really understand here is that washing a plate that has had a sandwich on it is a 5 second job. We've got one of those wands that you fill with washing up liquid and has a sponge on the end. Run water, wipe plate (that probably only has a few crumbs on it anyway) with wand, rinse.

That's where I'm confused with the kind of meals people are using them for, because it's mainly not the meals where the washing up is harder, it's sandwiches and toast etc

it was definitely lazy, I was young and a bit thoughtless at the time, just sharing an anecdote really. Never said it was a hardship. It was a once-per-year purchase! And I don’t do it any more.

actually I think having a dishwasher can make a huge difference to quality of life. Not having one doesn’t justify laziness but I hated it.

Me too!

Putting them in the recycling is pointless. If they are not clean then they won’t be recycled.

It's not a strange comment in the context of the reply. People are saying oh its OK if people are disabled. Like we have an excuse for use of paper plates. So my question is how are you able to know this? Hth

One of those plastic things with a sponge on the end that don't last long at all?

Washing up liquid, from a plastic bottle?

Super environmentally friendly there.

As I stated before I'm in pain a lot, I've had a stroke, and I'm a carer for my dd, so sue me if I take the lazy way out sometimes. If you don't understand why, then be glad.

Also most of them are not recyclable because of the thin plastic coating. So wastefully using a single use item then contaminating the recycling, which can lead to it all going to landfill 👏

Every now and again you read something which really brings home that our planet is fucked and this thread is one of those moments.

@MamaWillYouBuyMeAWillYouBuyMeABanana I wasn't saying I was better, I was just wondering what the point was when using it for something like a sandwich where the plate barely gets dirty. I've not made a single comment about the environment on this thread.

Ahhh so you're just here to suggest that people with chronic pain, caring duties, depression, or many of the other reasons outlined on this thread are lazy, and you don't actually care about the environment then?

So much better.

I've seen people throw used tissues in the recycling bin so it's no surprise that people also throw in used disposable plates!

@MamaWillYouBuyMeAWillYouBuyMeABanana I didn't say lazy either. I said I didn't see how it was even noticeably less effort. How can I think that something that isn't noticeably less effort is lazy? I was thinking that adding paper plates to our kitchen bin would mean it needed to be emptied more often, and even if this increase was slight, it would undo any slight benefit from not having to wash a plate that just had a few crumbs on it from a sandwich.

I also didn't say I didn't care about the environment. I said I hadn't brought it up on my comment, or anywhere on this thread. The reason is because, as many people on this thread have pointed out, no one is perfect here. And saying "well you use paper plates so you're damaging the environment" is a pointless thing to say because everyone does things that damage the environment all day. That doesn't mean people shouldn't try to reduce their overall damage, but I wouldn't pick at one thing someone does for their own reasons (such as the ones you've provided) and criticise them for it.

I hope you are getting the support you need for your mental health issues. X

I’m fairly sure there is likely we do that the Americans feel isn’t ok.

I don’t like paper plates as find them a bit insubstantial and floppy. I quite like thr bamboo ones, I use them for parties, and they recycle.

Personally, my issue with disposable plates is environmental. I see absolutely nothing wrong with laziness!

I’m fairly sure there is likely we do that the Americans feel isn’t ok.

In terms of environmental impact I'm not sure that they've got the high ground in any respect.

This sort of waste and use of resources unnecessarily affects everyone.

@Jc2001 "This sort of waste and use of resources unnecessarily affects everyone."

Agreed. Why "lazy"?

I think it says something about the overall food culture. The lack of respect for food. The focus purely on convenience. The laziness around cooking and mealtimes.

Also, if you have made the plate dirty ie grease, sauce/butter on it etc it cannot be recycled. Recycling is for clean, dry only 🙄 how can people be grown ups and not understand a very basic instruction!

Look. Number one, I think landfill is vilified too much. If you took a disused quarry or something you could literally dump rubbish in it for decades without filling it up. We have so much space on this planet and holes in the ground we can fill up without having to burn the rubbish or even drop it into a volcano.

Number two, I put paper plates in the recycling (after giving them a rinse and scraping all the food/dirt off so they look clean) and I’ve never heard anything negative back.

Look. Number one, I think landfill is vilified too much. If you took a disused quarry or something you could literally dump rubbish in it for decades without filling it up. We have so much space on this planet and holes in the ground we can fill up without having to burn the rubbish or even drop it into a volcano.

I’m quoting this in case the original post is edited later.