it can go through so much, but eventually it's color will fade. you can reuse it, and wash it and it'll look brand new. and if you press your knife to hard or slam it down on the table, it could chip. and maybe you have super glue just lying around, so hey why not? fix that old plate up. and it can be put out for anyone, anyone at al can use it, and in a store when you decide hmmm should i buy, and take it home or what you decide on the way it looks, whether it's the right color or size and when you decide to get rid of it, you decide on how empty that superglue containers been getten cause that plate was used oh so many times, it's color has faded and it has more than just a couple chips. so to the garbage it goes. and so you go back to the store to but a new plate, maybe a different color, this time, eh?