In an effort to reduce doing dishes, I heard someone say that after using the dish to eat a meal, they put the plate in the freezer to prevent bacterial growth, and would then use the same dish over and over again. Does this really work?

It would seem to work but this person gets the award for the Laziest Person in the World.

Well, it will slow the growth down - while it remains at freezer temperatures.

Once the plate - and all the crud caked onto it - warm back up past about 40 F, bacterial growth starts again - from where it left off last time. Since your plate will warm up to room temperature and beyond while you use it, you're increasing the bacterial load it bears each time you take it out.

The only think you can say about this is that the growth would be less than if you left your food-caked plate out on the counter all the time. The growth, however, would certainly not be negligible.

Then there's the disgust factor to put up with - eating a nice, fresh slice of key lime pie off a plate encrusted in weeks-old lasagna, trout, potatoes of various kinds, mushrooms, peas, ketchup...

No thanks.

So, I think we can agree that keeping a dirty plate in the freezer will retard bacteria growth, but I think we can also agree that your friend is a retard too.