I know someone who reuses plastic silverware (not really the durable kind, but the inexpensive party plastic silverware that can be sold in most supermarkets). There has been silverware in her collection that has been used and washed (dishwasher included) multiple times. Is it okay for them to be used in this manner or should they be discarded after the first use?
It's fine as long as it's been washed in hot water and dish soap. I wouldn't used stained pieces though. The dish washer would be perfect.
Each time you reuse, the no gets louder. The first time it is kind of little no, but each subsequent time it becomes more insistent. Reason is that plastic contains pores. The cheap stuff contains even more pours than the better stuff. After time, even a dishwasher can't get bacteria out of all the pores. Also, plastic photodegrades (molecules separate over time and exposure to light), meaning eventually tiny particles of plastic are going to come off in your mouth (with those lovely bacteria). Even if the bateria you ingest isn't that much, the toxins in the plastic you ingest may make the practice worth avoiding as much as possible.
