I could have titled this as just waste created by living daily, but wanted to focus it down a little more. I feel kind of like im the crazy one that sees this insane waste when eating at restaurants, wrappers, cups, drink carriers going right in the trash, billions per day. Its insanity if you think about it.
I’ve at least been never using cup lids or straws and never taking drink carriers when theyre offered (what a massive waste of cardboard!). Then most of the waste is at least paper from the bag and wrapper. Still not great. And yes, I know the solution would be “cook at home!” But that also wastes a lot of freshwater from dish washing, and sometimes it’s just nice to eat somewhere else.
I wonder if this is just something you notice as you get older. Then again older peiple probably waste the most, but I’m just guessing.
But that also wastes a lot of freshwater from dish washing
I’m going to pick on this one point. A high end dishwasher appliance only use 2.4 gallons (9L) of fresh water, while even average dishwashers use about 5 to 6 gallons. To put that in perspective an 8 minute shower likely uses 17 gallons.
So dishwashing is a tiny tiny waste, if you can even call it a waste.
Another point of (minor) contention for me is the fact that fresh water isn’t a limited resource in many parts of the world. Sure, some places it is, but a default of needing to save on water seems like a very limited frame of mind in the same way one shouldn’t assume everywhere needs to focus on retaining building heat by recycling waste heat.
Compared to throwing away disposable plates and cutlery, it’s a no-brainer.
Your point is spot-on. Fully agreed: modern dishwashers are way more energy- and water-efficient than manually washing dishes. Like at least an order of magnitude.
I personally struggle with this one for different reasons. Energy and water consumption are a very tight concern since I live on a sailboat. I can’t just crank the tap to get more water. Marine health is also a concern since, ya know, it’s all around me, and I eat some of these critters around my boat. Surfactants in detergent are deeply problematic in the environment and are not removed by most wastewater treatment. Moreover, surfactants impede wastewater treatment because of the emulsification interfere with aerobic treatment (Poland seems to be actively working on the problem). FWIW, manual dish detergent also has surfactants, especially SDS/SLS, so manual washing is not a panacea.
I don’t think there is a “right” answer to be had. But it sticks in my craw both ways.
Good to know!! I had heard this once
…are we describing the same restaurants? Unironically all the restaurants I go to generate less waste than me cooking at home lol…
As in, every time I go to a restaurant they would always bring in washable dishes/utensils, and I assume they would probably have to fill the dishwashers to the brim (in contrast to me living alone & only filling up half each time). The one time I ordered a takeout, the restaurant put all the food in insanely high-quality takeout boxes that were freezer and microwave friendly, I used them for meal prep for a full year…
Granted these are fine dining and all cost a fortune. I guess fast food/takeouts do describe that a bit better
It should be noted that “microwave safe” containers are not necessarily food safe. It literally means they will not melt or warp the microwave.
I mean I get where you’re coming from, but if you consider the water to wash dishes wasted, I’m afraid there isn’t really any food that is not wasteful, except maybe berries straight from the bush…
I just drop down on a deer from a tree, eat its liver, and lick the blood off my knife.
I’m disgusted by it.
But I’ve also reached the point where I’ve accepted that humanity will absolutely destroy this planet and there’s not much that we can do about it.
I still try to minimize my waste, but I do so simply to make myself feel better in the short term, not because I think it’s actually going to make a difference in the end.
Yeah on one hand it’s like, screw it, waste all i want and fuck the rest. But then I’d be a boomer
You’re talking about fast food. And even them are slowly (very slowly) moving toward reusable/washable stuff.
Some fast food, if eating there (not to-go) have limited waste, as far as the customer side is concerned. Actual restaurants, aside from straws everything’s reusable. And they’re probably a bit more efficient than cooking at home, too.
It might just be a case of stopping supporting places that are not moving in line with the time.
Like you said, most of it is paper so I think it’s fine. I am more concerned with snacks and shit which are wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil.
If you think what you have to throw out as the consumer is wasteful, take a look in the kitchens of these places and tell me that it’s any better. Most foods that have to be prepped in advance must be separated by single-use parchment/wax paper, then wrapped in plastic. When ready to use, use a glove for a few uses to take the prepped food out of the wrap, remove the paper separating it all, and chuck it out. It could have been prepped a week ago, or only two hours ago for fresh use, you still throw out all this paper and plastic wrapping. And then the cleaning, there is an inexcusable amount of paper towel used for various purposes, from drying your hands to wiping a counter/table, etc. And it’s all thrown out. Some restaurants will use towels and kitchen rags, but then you have so many to wash and clean, it’s usually done by a third-party service that has to drive to pick it all up, drive to a central laundry stop, do the laundry, and then drive it all back to get done again. And if you are in a place that has a washing machine in-house, it’s a drop in the bucket in solving real waste issues.
I just wanted to mention that using some water to wash dishes isn’t wasteful at all. Also a dish washer uses much less water than you’d think.
The amount of packaging we use once and then just throw away is hideous.
In Germany they put a bounty on glass bottles to encourage people to collect and return for reusing and I wish we would standardize more/all packaging like this and reuse everything over and over.
I much prefer glass. However it takes a decent amount more fuel to transport glass since it’s so heavy.
no
It’s unfortunately a cost thing.
If you want to avoid the single use waste, you have to patronise more expensive restaurants
In my experience it’s fast food or fast food adjacent places that are the worst for disposable items. The more expensive the meal, the only things going in the bin are any leftovers.
It really shouldn’t be that way, but it is.
Anyone who can afford a Michelin Star dinner, isn’t going to want to take home the napkins or silverware.
Those of us who can afford Taco Bell, stock up on sporks.
I’ve at least been never using cup lids or straws and never taking drink carriers when [they’re] offered (what a massive waste of cardboard!).
- lids and straws are absolutely insignificant against the whole.
- cardboard drink carriers use a rougher kind of cardboard without dyes or wax or plastic, and it’s on the end of the spectrum with the least impact to the environment.
…the bag and wrapper.
You may have picked a class of restaurant that produces the most hard-to-biodegrade waste, and I’m not sure it’s proper to paint an entire industry based on its worst members. It’s like the sub-prime mortgage crisis but for restaurant and waste.
“cook at home!”
I’m not sure you’re comparing two values with the same magnitude.
I wonder if this is just something you notice as you get older.
Your writing suggests a member of a cohort that isn’t even close to getting ‘older’. As an American Millennial, in a country with a rapidly-declining life expectancy, growing old may not be a valid concern.
peiple
A hat on a hat.
If you want to talk about personal waste, the problem is two-end: reducing consumption (new stuff) and reducing disposal. Some plastic wrapping, some packaging and single use items are required in some applications (e.g. for sanitary reasons), but we can find alternatives (e.g. bamboo biodegradable cutlery) and look to use longer lasting items over single use. The second is the lack of segragation of waste streams and appropriate facilities to reclaim material from waste. Even if something is biodegradable, if it ends in a landfill it can release methane or if burned it releases CO2. Many landfills have most of their emissions coming from organic and yard waste, and diverting that to compost, mulch and natural gas digester projects.
There are a lot of problems but there are also a lot of solutions. You will have to set aside a level of waste you are willing to accept, and work towards places you can improve or propose items or support efforts that can help. Zero waste for everywhere and everything is an impossible goal that strictly pursuing that will achieve nothing but make you depressed.
For restaurants specifically, when you eat out you can go to places with washable plates and cutlery instead of paper/plastic ones, or for the cheaper end, ones that use bamboo cutlery instead of plastic.
not really, I waste plenty more than I would like at home too
Without reading anything but the title - yes. I actively avoid going to restaurants that use single use plates and the like. I also take containers with me and encourage others to do so rather than using single use takeout containers for leftovers. I also am not keen on doing takeout.
