Regarding "Use of disposables is wasteful" (letter, April 22): Blaming KBR isn’t going to fix the problem and insulting the people who do this job is, at best, counterproductive. While the writer’s theory is sound, it lacks proper research. Allow me to fill in a few holes.

How much does water cost in Afghanistan? I don’t know, but I am sure the gas it takes to bring it in and run the generators for the electricity to heat the water in these dishwashers that are so cheap is astronomical, not to mention the electricity it takes to run the dishwashers themselves. Plus the pay for the operators of said dishwashers (they don’t load and unload themselves). Also we shouldn’t forget soap cost.

Where are these Sam’s Club Melamine plates made, China? So, instead of spending $3,285,000 in Kentucky and Illinois in a downtrodden economy, ship our cash to a communist country?

While I applauded the writer’s effort to save the environment, he does more harm through the constant running of a dishwasher.

Treating the water is another cost of the process of maintaining the reusable plates. The infrastructure at the writer’s location, Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan, I am sure is set up for dishwashers, too.

Never mind that the Army dictates the tools for KBR to accomplish the mission, any mission.

Aaron LampeBalad, Iraq

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