I don't see it working in the U.S. though, since people would probably be stealing them and other horrific stuff. Just a very different culture...
It seems to work just fine, nothing "horrific" about it.
The horrific part, is an imputed risk the dishes in america become stolen, used as weapons, frisbees..
I think the primary schools in east asia, excluding China for obvious reasons, are the birthplace [0] of a form of civic cohesion that the U.S. and Canada (virtually the same culture, despite what people say) lack. We have the rule of law and consequences, and that's a good start, but there's a missing piece.
[0] in addition to the home, I guess, but good luck improving that first.
Nowadays, it seems like trying to enforce good/proper behavior in the U.S. would be taken as an affront to personal freedom or "forcing one's culture onto others", so perhaps we need a different way to incentivize good behavior in this multicultural society where it's almost a sin to want and expect others to do something for the good of anyone but themselves.