Plastic Tableware Rapidly Gaining In Popularity

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 98, 15 February 1950, Page 7

Plastic Tableware Rapidly Gaining In Popularity

Colourful, lightweight, flexible, and more durable plastic dishes will soon replace china and earthenware tableware in many restaurants and homes in the United States, according to the Armour Research Foundation of the Illinois Institute of Technology.

“While plastic cannot equal the beauty of fine china,” says the Foundation, “they are well suited for everyday use in the home and for restaurants. They are about one-third the weight of comparable china or earthenware, but their low thermal conductivity permits food to stay hotter longer.”

American restaurant owners and the plastics industry developed the plastic tableware principally to help reduce breakages of dishes. They also helped improve the design of dishes to permit safer and higher stacking. The light weight of plastic dishes makes them almost noiseless, thus eliminating much of the loud clatter made by ordinary dishes. In addition to plastic plates, cups, and saucers, other plastic table accessories, such as trays, place mats, and table.cloths are becoming popular because they can be cleaned easily and are pleasing to the eye.