A plastic cup is a disposable cup made out of plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

. It is most commonly used as a container to hold beverages.

Distinguishing features

Plastic cups come in a variety of colours, textures and sizes.

Most plastic cups contain a resin identification code

Resin identification code

The SPI resin identification coding system is a set of symbols placed on plastics to identify the polymer type. It was developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988, and is used internationally....

 which can be seen by inverting the cup and reading the numerical value printed on the bottom.

Uses

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. Plastic cups can be used for storing most liquids, but hot liquids may melt the material.

Environmental issues

Most plastic cups are designed for single uses and then disposal or recycling. A life cycle inventory of a comparison of paper and plastic shows environmental effects of both with no clear winner. Production of one plastic cup emits 135 pounds of green house gases