HereToday asks:Is there ever an excuse for paper plates?

Heretoday...I think if yo choose to you can always use normal plates and wash them...but for big parties it becomes quite cumbersome and water is wasted. So paper plates are not a bad choice as compared to styrofoam one because atleast they are biodegradable....if you are using paper plates...you could also maybe plant a tree and ask your guest to do the same as your own way to offset the use.

I think that paper plates are fine to use for the occasional big cookout party. Many people probably don't have enough plate settings for a big crowd of people.

Excellent suggestion about using it as an occasion to encourage replanting behavior! I shall do so!

...so they aren't cutting down forests to make paper products. However, I don't know if making a paper plate is more wasteful than washing and disposing of a plate. During the life of a plate, you use an awful lot of water, detergent and energy to heat the water that you use for washing that plate. The dish-washing liquid is in plastic bottles, which are petroleum products, and the plate doesn't biodegrade when it's eventually discarded, so I'm tending to think that paper plates may actually be better for the environment, but I don't know for sure.