Did you know that in the 16th Century in Italy, it was customary for upper-class guests and merchants to arrived with their own table fork which they carried in a little box called a cadena?
Did you know that in North America the table fork was not common until near the time of the American Revolution?
Did you know that in Switzerland, while eating Fondue from a communal pot, if your piece of bread falls off your long fork into the hot cheese mix, you have to pay for the next round of drinks?
Did you know that today in America, millions of plastic forks end up in the trash because your municipal recycling center refuses to accept them in your plastic recycling curbside pick-up?
So far nobody at my town’s recycling center was able to give me a satisfying answer on why plastic cutlery can not be accepted. The same thing with plastic planting pots and plastic hangers. The funniest answer I got a few weeks ago was: “When in doubt, throw it out!” By the way, that is also the slogan of my town’s recycling center and is printed all over my recycling calendar. So why even bother to recycle? So wrong!
After yet another staff party at my job in a school, I was shocked at all the plastic cutlery in the trash can. As I was helping to clean up, I calculated that for the 40 attending teachers, we just threw a total of 120 plastic forks, spoons, and knives into the garbage. Yet just a few doors down in the science hallway, the teachers preached to their students the devastating effect of the carbon footprint on our planet!
The next morning, as I prepared my salad for work, I decided to challenge myself and see how long I could eat my future lunches with the same plastic fork. I started using that same fork every workday from October on. It was very simple - after each use, I would wash it at the sink and stick it back into my lunch bag. Unfortunately in March, with a clumsy move, as I hurried to work, I broke my beloved black plastic fork! But yes, I used that same fork for more than 6 months and I felt good about it.
I also learned to decline the friendly handouts of plastic utensils in the bagel store or the plastic spill stopper at the local coffee shop. When ordering takeout food, I tell the person behind the counter to kindly NOT throw a handful of plastic cutlery into my bag.
Don’t worry, I won’t eat with my hands - at home, I have a drawer full of shiny silverware, and yes - I will survive without the plastic forks.