If you want to reduce our carbon footprint from washing dishes, what method should we use? Should we wash the dishes ourselves or use a dishwasher? Research from Professor Bernes-Lee show easy ways to wash our dishes in a more energy efficient way.

Should we use the dishwasher or hand wash dishes?

Research shows that handwashing plates only beats using a dishwasher if water is used sparingly and at a mild, warm temperature. If you use lots of hot water, carbon emissions of washing dishes will be higher than a dishwasher. It is also unhygienic because there will be 400 times more bacteria on your plates compared to plates that have been washed in the dishwasher. In comparison to washing dishes by hand, a dishwasher is your best option from a carbon emissions perspective. The worst thing you can do is to wash the plate and then put it in the dishwasher. This is the worst of both worlds and creates the most carbon emissions.

How to use the dishwasher

If your dishwasher has the option to wash at a lower temperature, then choose this option because the lower the temperature, the less energy is being used by the dishwasher. When choosing a dishwasher, the best dishwashers for the environment are modern, efficient and built to last. The less you need to replace it, the less carbon per use. Professor Bernes-Lee’s research shows the change in carbon emissions with different approaches to washing dishes:

0 CO₂e by hand in cold water (but plates are not clean)

360g CO₂e by hand, sparingly, in warm water

470g CO₂e in a dishwasher at eco-50^o Celsius

600g CO₂e in a dishwasher at intensive 65^o Celsius

3kg CO₂e by hand, with extravagant use of water

The impact of dishwasher tablets

Most dishwasher tablets have palm oil in them and the production of palm oil is one of the main causes of deforestation. Palm oil has accounted for 23% of deforestation in this century and has been particularly harmful to tropical rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia where it is mainly produced. To reduce carbon emissions from washing dishes, choose dishwasher tablets which use palm oil from responsibly produced sources, and they should RSPO certified. RSPO is a global certification system for certified sustainable palm oil and it should be on the packet. If there are dishwasher tablets which are palm oil free, this is even better! There are a number of brands that do not have palm oil in their dishwasher tablets and they can easily be found with an internet search.