Other Answers (5)

• It depends on where you live and how available fresh water is. If you live in Arizona, paper plates are better. If you live in Washington, dishes are better.
• i think using dishes and washing them is the better alternative.
  
  paper plates are harmful to the environment (if it were just you doing it, then sure), but say for instance we all did that, for every meal, every day, we would be in crisis.
  if you wash your plates up by hand, and dont overuse water resources, i think this will be a much better alternative.
• Water is more renewable than paper.
  
  Consider the energy and resources needed to make and market a real plate and a paper plate. Lets say it%26#039;s 1:100 (or whatever). Will you use that real plate more than 100 times? Probably.
  
  Sure you have to wash it, but think of all the energy and environmental pressure that goes into dsposing of all those paper plates (especially when many recyclers won%26#039;t take things with food residue on them).
• I would rather use glass. The water and soap used is less polluting than plastic and foam plates.
• recycle,
  use paper it is e-zer to recycle