zerowaste

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Discussing ways to reduce waste and build community!

Celebrate thrift as a virtue, talk about creative ways to make do, or show off how you reused something!

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Compostable dishes vs washing dishes (slrpnk.net)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Many cafés and fast food places these days provide disposable dishes and cutlery when you're eating in. This used to infuriate me, but it seems to be improving slightly now as the trend has moved towards using compostable dishes instead of plastic ones.

However, it's still waste. It makes me wonder, what is more costly in the long run? Providing customers with compostable items or running hot dishwashers and using soap and water all day to reuse dishes?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Something else to keep in mind is breakage. Don't think the compostable stuff breaks all that often but reusable stuff in restaurants sure does.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Stoneware is the worst. I have 50+ year old hand me down ceramics that seem tough as hell. New stuff ends up chipped, cracked and broken far too soon.

I'm certain that modern tableware is built to fail compared to what it's possible for modern ceramic science to create.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

Buy cheap shit, get cheap quality. It's always been that way.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

True. In the grand scheme of things, everything is destined to become waste eventually, all we can do is hope that it is useful waste and aim to slow its flow. I guess if compostable waste is more clean than ceramic/metal/glass waste, that is a point in it's favour, but maybe those materials can be cleanly recycled with proper care/planning?