recycled wooden cutlery versus metal

smudgetheboy

Hi there, Not sure if this is the right forum but I would welcome opinions on this. We have just visited a well known RHS Garden and one of the cafes has started using wooden cutlery, recycled paper plates and serviettes and plastic glasses which is all sorted by the customers into various bins. Is this better for the environment than re-using glasses, metal cutlery and china plates? I am a bit dubious myself. Is it better to throw it all away than to wash up?

bella165

no because the recycle them and so its works out cheaper in the long run

arkonite_babe

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unrich

I was told recently that China/Asia are having trouble with chop sticks.
The habitual use of disposable chopsticks is denuding the landscape of bamboo.
People are being encouraged to use metal chopsticks.

Eventually a steel fork will pay back in terms of energy invested in its production.

This may be urban myth. But, it has an whiff of plausibility.

Jonesya

Strikes me as an outlet using disposable items for convenience but trying to put a green spin on it by plugging the recycled angle.

A good indicator is cost because it captures all the costs of the energy and resources used in production - reuseable items win hands down.

A_fiend_for_life

unrich wrote: »

I was told recently that China/Asia are having trouble with chop sticks.
The habitual use of disposable chopsticks is denuding the landscape of bamboo.
People are being encouraged to use metal chopsticks.

Eventually a steel fork will pay back in terms of energy invested in its production.

This may be urban myth. But, it has an whiff of plausibility.

I remember it in the news about 6 months or so ago. Certainly not an urban myth.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/may/15/japan.justinmccurry