[mediumdeviation]

Regarding disposable plates and utensils, I actually don't see much of them unless you ask for takeout. I suspect in the area you're in the cost of dish washing is more expensive than the cost of plates and refuse collection. A tax on disposables would be great.

Singapore is actually getting better on reducing disposables, though slower than I would like. Cashiers don't double bag items anymore, and try to pack as much into one as possible. Paper takeout boxes and bags have replaced styrofoam and plastic in many places, and it's currently trendy to not offer plastic straws for drinks.

Another reason for disposable chopsticks, (though this applies more in China, Taiwan and Malaysia) is that the customers may not trust the hygiene of the place they're eating in. Disposable chopsticks are cut with the centers intact so it's impossible to put them back together and resell them.

[Sureai]

I had one metallic straw in a fancy cocktail bar. The rest were plastic. Not to say, that I get a plastic cup full of ice with a plastic straw when I order a green tea, which comes in a can and is already ice cold. For the litter I see the most: part of plastic bags and Dasani water bottles. I hope the change in trash management, recycling and maybe trash separation does not only start with the rich people here, but with everyone.

[Cthulhu_]

Metallic straw? Like, reusable? Fairly sure that wouldn't fly anywhere else, I mean, even plastic straws are individually packaged right now due to hygiene considerations.

Disposable plastic > poorly cleaned reusables.

[CaptainZapp]

I ate street food, while sitting on rickety plastic chairs on small metal tables, covered in noise and moped fumes in Penang, Bangkok and Ha Noi among other places.

I ate a lot of it and never, ever got sick.

Here's my golden rule from which I never deviate:

  Make sure that you see how they cook the food on premises 
  It needs to be well visited, preferably by locals

As I said I never got sick (or even felt slight discomfort) and I had a number of memorable meals under such conditions.

Would a western health inspector tolerate the setup? Hell; no!

But, so what?

Sure, you can stick to the hotel restaurant of The Intercontinental in Bangkok, but you'll be hardly any safer than eating on a wobbly table in some small soi in the area.

But man, will you be missing out...

[roel_v]

Do you eat with plastic utensils when you go anywhere but a food truck festival?

[titzer]

I have yet to see evidence that individually packaged plastic forks and knives are more hygienic, or that any poorly-cleaned utensil ever made anyone sick.

> Disposable plastic > poorly cleaned reusables.

FUD from germophobes, IMHO.

[larrysalibra]

Metal straws are very popular in upscale bars in financial cities such as New York, London and Hong Kong. It’s usually a sign you’re paying way too much for your drink!

[ValentineC]

> Regarding disposable plates and utensils, I actually don't see much of them unless you ask for takeout. I suspect in the area you're in the cost of dish washing is more expensive than the cost of plates and refuse collection. A tax on disposables would be great.

Most hawker stalls charge an extra 20 cents or so for takeout, which helps them recover the cost of the container. I think that's a good compromise.

[then]

This! Many Shenzhen China street bbq 'hawkers?' will offer you a plate that is covered with disposable plastic bag, so they don't need to clean the plates (cost more than bag?), only throw away the bag (throwing meaning recycling by someone else). Its purely about making a living....NOW...all down to the smallest bit of margin and plastic it seems. It also seems plastic in Asia is a lot more recyclable than in Europe, where it's seen as a threat. In China you put your banana peel in the 'non recyclable' bin and your plastic in the 'recyclable' bin... This sorta hints at the human cost behind recycling this stuff it seems...beyond being someones retirement fund, can we really get rid of this plastic? What are the costs of this? Are there more energy efficient alternatives?

[then]

scanning over the article > "clean" in the headline and "green" first paragraph leaves me confused, also the two following paragraphs are titled "clean and green" and then talks about fines...followed by "a 'fine' city" (pun intended?). So in what way does punishment affects 'green' solutions? What solutions are you looking for? In what way would incentives work? 'Mentality change' is also an interesting one...Too many questions

[theriddlr]

The separate disposable chopsticks used to be rinsed and then repacked and reused.