Conserve Water or Save a Tree?

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@Genipher (5405)
United States
August 10, 2017 4:04pm CST
I've heard before that using paper plates is bad for the Earth--that it's not "green". But I got to thinking today, while eating chicken pot pie off my paper plate...which is worse? Destroying a tree by eating off of a paper plate or using up water to wash a "real" plate? For a small family or single person, the latter is probably best because there wouldn't be much water needed to wash the dishes. But our family of nine? It would take more water to wash up, so the paper plates are probably more Earth-friendly. I suppose we could do better...we could use our hands as plates or, as my daughter shared, use bread bowls in lieu of a platter as they did in medieval times. But then, the bread still needs to be baked in something and that something would need to be washed; and it might be awkward, not to mention painful, carrying around a handful of stew.... So what say you? Would you choose to save a tree or conserve water, in this instance?
8 people like this
7 responses
Ruby Hawk
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
14 Aug 17
that's a hard one, we're depleting out resourses whatever we do but I never use paper plates and neither do I use a dishwasher because it uses too much water and electricity.
1 person likes this
Ruby Hawk
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
15 Aug 17
@Genipher I agree that children make good dishwashers.
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
16 Aug 17
@RubyHawk If they only agreed, as well, eh?
1 person likes this
Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
14 Aug 17
Our children are our dishwashers. I agree, though, dishwashers use up a LOT of water.
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rebelann1949
@rebelann (111189)
• El Paso, Texas
10 Aug 17
I'd go with real pots n pans n plates, that paper plate ends up in a land fill and that ain't good either.
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
10 Aug 17
In the past, we used the paper plates as kindling for our fireplace. But then our chimney had issues and our landlord still has to fix it. Not to mention we don't use it in the summer. Doesn't paper break down rather quickly?
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rebelann1949
@rebelann (111189)
• El Paso, Texas
11 Aug 17
Paper plates are treated with all kinds of chemicals so no it's going to break down the way regular paper would @Genipher
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
11 Aug 17
@rebelann Ew. I didn't realize...I'm not sure I want us eating off of chemicals.
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marguicha
@marguicha (215460)
• Chile
10 Aug 17
I like to wash the dishes, but I don´t let the water run as I used to. And I don´t use as many dishes as I did. Years ago, we used a small dish just to put your napkin on it.
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marguicha
@marguicha (215460)
• Chile
10 Aug 17
@Genipher Not anymore, but I used to, for most of my life. I do dry dishes and the like with cloth mantels made with old tablecloths. And I gave away my dryer several years ago and only wash clothes when there is sun or if I can hang them to dry inside when the heater is on.
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
10 Aug 17
I confess, we tend to let the water run more than we should, which means we're not really conserving water or saving trees... Do you use cloth napkins?
1 person likes this
Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
10 Aug 17
@marguicha I love hanging clothes on the line. Makes them smell soooo nice! My daughter and I have thought about making cloth napkins. We just need to stop procrastinating and do it.
Toni
@toniganzon (72285)
• Philippines
10 Aug 17
We have lots of bananas here and we can use banana leaves as our plate. That without having to destroy the tree and used up the water!
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Toni
@toniganzon (72285)
• Philippines
10 Aug 17
@Genipher Just realized my tree was three hahaha! Edited it. Still getting used to the butterfly keyboard.
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
11 Aug 17
@toniganzon I knew what you meant.
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
10 Aug 17
That's a perfect solution! I love it!
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
11 Aug 17
As we have plenty of water here, I will surely decide to save a tree, not to mention that washing does not create "garbage" to collect. Also garbage collection pollute.
1 person likes this
M.-L.
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
10 Aug 17
That's a tough one. I think the answer depends on where you live. There are countries with constant droughts and countries with enough water.
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Genipher
@Genipher (5405)
• United States
10 Aug 17
That's true. We're in Oregon and we tend to have a lot of water. I didn't think about this aspect. Perhaps, since we have an abundance of water, it would be better to use real plates.
Oshy
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
10 Aug 17
I would use as little water as possible in this case.
1 person likes this