I would like to point out that the amount of materials and water to process and make compostable plates is huge. I think washing some stoneware dishes is a better plan.
People say dishwashers use less water than hand washing and they do. But the cost to get all the materials, the water to process it all, ship it, and make a dishwasher probably never come close to less in the end.
I think a lot of the endless growth, progress and improvement is somewhat of a negative mutation. No other creature on earth constantly needs to change and improve.
That said we have done many amazing things, and no one wants to go back. But constant improvement just for improvement seems wrong.
Capitalism and the economy are all based on endless growth and most people will not give up anything or let go of it at this point (the cats out of the bag). It will take a very huge shift probably caused by something very bad to change most people’s ways.
I would love to see someone do a break down of this cost. I can not imagine all the metal plastic rubber aluminum electronics being made and shipped all over the world is going to come out ahead of of a stainless steel sink that can last a life time. Dishwashers now only last 9 to 12 years or something now.