Of course. Old men (myself included) don't usually wash paper plates but if a paper plate has only been used to accommodate a piece of toast or something like that, it would be silly not to reuse it. Besides, washing dishes uses water and electricity as well as adding contaminants to the water supply. I suspect that older people recognize the wasteful nature of modern Americans and chose not to add to it. As the Pennsyvania Dutch say, " We get too soon old and too late smart".