Paper cup
[3][4] Disposable cups in shared environments have become more common for hygienic reasons after the advent of the germ theory of disease.
Due mainly to environmental concerns, modern disposable cups may be made of recycled paper or other inexpensive materials such as plastic.
Textual evidence of paper cups appears in a description of the possessions of the Yu family, from the city of Hangzhou.
One notable investigation into their use was the study by Alvin Davison, biology professor at Lafayette College, published with the sensational title "Death in School Drinking Cups" in Technical World Magazine in August 1908, based on research carried out in Easton, Pennsylvania's public schools.
[citation needed] Dixie Cup is the brand name for a line of disposable paper cups that were first developed in the United States in 1907 by Lawrence Luellen, an inventor in Boston, Massachusetts, who was concerned about germs being spread by people sharing glasses or dippers at public supplies of drinking water.
Davison's study was instrumental in abolishing the public glass and opening the door for the paper cup.
After many states started to ban the common drinking cup in public places, steady orders for Luellen's machine began to roll in.
Success led the company, which had existed under a variety of names, to call itself the Dixie Cup Corporation and move to a factory in Wilson, Pennsylvania.
The assets of James River are now part of Georgia-Pacific, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, the second largest privately owned company in the United States.
The closing of the factory also prompted Conrail to abandon the Easton & Northern railroad branch, of which Dixie Cups was the last major customer.
[citation needed] In 1969, the Dixie Cup logo was created by Saul Bass, a graphic designer known for his motion picture title sequences.
[13] The tone of many of the advertisements created by the Dixie Cup Company took the form of embracing modern ideals and marketing towards people who wanted to improve their lives and jump on board a new trend for fear of being left behind.
[citation needed] A subsequent pivot towards soda fountains was made in both product line and advertising, but the central idea of individual use as more sanitary than reusable glasses persisted.
The mouth roll forming process requires good elongation properties of the board and the plastic coating.
[16] To meet hygiene requirements, paper cups are generally manufactured from virgin (non-recycled) materials.
The water-resistant food packaging alternative material was developed by a consortium made up of the Department of Trade and Industry Design Center of the Philippines (DCP), Cagayan de Oro Handmade Paper, Nature's Fresh, and Ideatechs Packaging Corporation.
Printing flexographic has become ideal for long runs and manufacturers generally use this method when producing over a million cups.
[citation needed] A UK-based business group James Cropper have developed the world's first facility for the effective recycling of the estimated 2.5 billion paper coffee cups used and disposed of by British businesses each year, and have become one of 14 international companies to formally join the Paper Recovery and Recycling Group (PCRRG).
[citation needed] James Cropper's Reclaimed Fibre Facility was opened by HM The Queen in July 2013, and recovers both the plastic and paper from the cups; ensuring nothing is wasted from the recycling process.
[24][25] A life cycle inventory of a comparison of paper vs plastic cups shows environmental effects of both with no clear winner.
[30] A number of cities – including Portland, Oregon — have banned XPS foam cups in take-out and fast food restaurants.
The plastic lids can have many features including peel back tabs, raised walls to protect the foam of gourmet hot drinks and embossed text.
