[nearbuy]

That's a good reason to use a dishwasher, and you should keep doing it. But the overall waste is small and people aren't going to care.

I'm not saying people who already have a dishwasher will throw it away. But a robot makes installing a new dishwasher much less tempting.

At my utility prices, it costs about 5¢ to hand-wash one serving (plate, pan, glass, utensils, and a bowl) with running water. That's not nothing, but it's dwarfed by the energy use of using the oven and the supply-chain energy and water use of the food if it includes meat.

People will casually waste 10x that energy without a second thought when they don't need to just because it's convenient, or because they're used to doing things that way.

The dishwasher looks more unfavorable if you're considering installing one in a small apartment or condo. Apart from the cost of the dishwasher, you need space to install it, and more cupboard space to keep more dishes, glasses, etc. For an extra 4¢ per person-meal, having your robot do the dishes buys you the convenience of skipping all that and having all your dishes clean and ready all the time.