Plastic cup

As well as being cheap, washable plastic cups are light and hard to break, and tend to be used for children or for travel and outside use, in gardens and picnics.

Disposable plastic cups are often used for gatherings where it would be inconvenient to wash dishes afterward, due to factors such as location or number of guests.

A common design in the United States is a red plastic cup, often used for serving alcoholic beverages.

[1] A life cycle inventory of a comparison of paper and plastic shows the environmental effects of both with no clear winner.

In general cardboard or paper takes one to three months for biodegradation, as the majority of the content, up to 95%, is made with wood chips.