When we were in America on holiday recently, we were staying in mid-range hotels, and without exception, self-service breakfasts used paper, plastic or polystyrene plates and single use (usually plastic) cutlery. The piles of waste generated from every breakfast session were mind-boggling. Not to mention the cost and carbon footprint. You could argue that the energy required to heat the water and amount of detergent used to wash reusable plates and cutlery has an impact on the environment, but surely it can't be as bad as that?