Andy wrote:
>
> Having a septic tank, I lean towards the paper plates and kitchen sink hand
> wash the pots and pans after dining.

If you eat everything from paper plates you must have some limited
menu... baloney sammiches and that ilk every meal....

Hand washing uses more water, more energy to heat water, and more
cleaning product than a dishwasher. And for small families there is
rarely a reason to use more than one pot per meal... most folks
usually go all week never using any cookware other than what goes in
the microwave/toaster oven, and these days much of that cookware goes
in the trash.

On the plus side hand washing after each meal allows one to need very
little by way of dishes and flatware.... you don't even need to spend
money on paper plates, eat sammiches and such directly off a paper
towel, or newspaper.. didja know that newsprint is sterile.