You probably know them. It’s been hard to ignore them (however hard you may try). They seem to be everywhere and have infiltrated pop culture at an alarming rate: they are Jon and Kate Plus 8.  This is not a salacious story about the state of their divorce or about them as people.  This is rather innocent by comparison but needs to be addressed nonetheless.

Kate was one of those self-proclaimed green gurus who espoused the merits of eco-friendly living at every turn. In the past Kate organized a family outing to an organic farm to buy an entire side of beef for her family so they didn’t consume any hormones. Kate and soon-to-be-ex-husband Jon brought in experts to teach them the art of eco-friendly living, which included how to cook organic and reduce their ecological footprint. They even had a special called “Jon and Kate Go Green”, where they took eco-friendly living to a new level by having solar panels installed on their home, and other energy saving measures. Now, these are all things that I applauded them for as they had an influence on many people; but now it would seem that they are not as green as they pretend to be.

My gripe comes from something I have observed, while taking part in this very public guilty pleasure – they use a lot of paper plates. They do not just use paper plates; they seem to use the cheapest thinnest paper plates possible.  How do I know this?  Well, anytime Kate makes an organic meal or they miss organic food while on one of their many vacations she comments on it.  The plates have never been referred to as anything but paper plates and you can plainly see that they are very flimsy.

The main issue I have with this is the frequency they are used on the show – almost every meal is eaten on paper plates. In fact eco-friendly living seems to go completely out the window as they give each child two plates, because they are so thin and that is the only way the plates can be of any use.  I’m no math whiz but that means that over the course of an average meal they go through at least 16 plates plus plates for the adults and babysitters. Now, this does not mean that they do not have a state of the art kitchen, equipped with a dishwasher, as that was the premise of a recent episode where they did kitchen renovations. Therefore there is no good reason at all why 5 and 9 year olds cannot eat off of a regular plate.

There are many alternatives for those who are interested in eco-friendly living, such as disposable plates that are made from corn or sugar cane resin. These are a great eco friendly solution as they easily break down and do not clog up landfills.  Yes, having solar panels highlighted in an episode is great; but for many viewers this is not a change they can make in these harsh economic times. It is best to show the little things one can do as paper plates also add up in a negative way. Since the recent attention that is being paid to the show I think they need to pay more than lip service to the environmental cause and show people that simple daily changes are they way to reduce your carbon footprint.   Just because you’ve made a spectacle of your life doesn’t mean you can’t still keep hold on your eco-friendly living principles.

Tags: carbon footprint, cook organic, disposable plates, disposables, Eco Friendly, eco friendly living, eco-friendly living principles, eco-friendly principles, ecological footprint, energy saving, Go Green, Jon and Kate, Jon and Kate Gosselin, Jon and Kate plus 8, Jon Gosselin, Kate Gosselin, landfills, organic farm, organic food, paper plates, planet forward, solar panels, sustainable lifestyle, Sustainable Living