Disposable cup

A disposable cup is a type of tableware and disposable food packaging. Disposable cup types include paper cups, plastic cups and foam cups. Expanded polystyrene is used to manufacture foam cups, and polypropylene is used to manufacture plastic cups.

As they are produced for single use, disposable cups and other similar disposable products constitute a major source of consumer and household waste, such as paper waste and plastic waste. It has been estimated that the average household discards around 70 disposable cups every year.

108 billion cups are consumed in the US per year, and the UK uses an estimated 2.5 billion paper cups every year.