Paper cups are disposable cups made of paper and often lined or coated with plastic or wax to prevent liquid leakage or soaking through paper. It can be made of recycled paper and is widely used all over the world.

Paper cups are recorded in China. Paper was invented in the 2nd century BC. Paper cups are used to serve tea. They are constructed in different sizes and colors and decorated with decorative designs. The textual evidence of the paper cup appears in the description of the belongings of the Yu family from Hangzhou.

Modern paper cups developed in the 20th century. In the early 20th century, glasses or dippers were commonly used in water sources, such as school taps or buckets on trains. This sharing causes public health problems. A remarkable survey of their use was conducted by Alvin Davidson, a professor of biology at Lafayette College. The study was published in the journal "technology world" in August 1908 in Easton, Pennsylvania, under the alarming title of "death in school drinking cup". Public schools. The article was reproduced and distributed by the Massachusetts Department of health in November 1909.

Based on these concerns, and as paper products (especially after the dixie cup invented in 1908) became cheaper and cleaner, local bans were passed on to shared cups. One of the first railroads to use disposable paper cups was Lackawanna, which began using them in 1909. By 1917, public glass had disappeared from railway cars and even been replaced by paper cups in jurisdictions where public glasses had not yet been banned.

Paper cups are also used in hospitals for health reasons. In 1942, the University of Massachusetts found in a study that the cost of using sterilized, reusable, washable glasses was 1.6 times greater than using a single serving paper cup. These studies, as well as the reduction of the risk of cross infection, have promoted the use of paper cups in hospitals.

The paper cup base paper is called "cup plate", which is made of special multi-layer paper machine. It has a waterproof coating. The paper needs high rigidity and strong wet sizing. The cup plate grade has a special design for the cup manufacturing process. In the process of roll forming, good elongation of plate and plastic coating is needed. A well formed mouth roll provides rigidity and operational performance in the cup.

At first, the paper cups for hot drinks stick together, by dropping a small amount of clay at the bottom of the cup, and then rotating at a high speed, the clay moves up along the wall of the cup, making the paper water resistant. However, this causes the drink to smell and taste the cardboard.

Cups used for cold drinks cannot be treated in the same way, as condensate will form on the outside and then be immersed in the plate to make the cup unstable. In order to solve this problem, cup manufacturers have developed the technology of spraying wax inside and outside the cup. The cup coated with polyethylene (PE) invented that the cup coated with clay and wax disappeared. This process covered the surface of the board, with a very thin PE layer, which made the board waterproof and welded the joints together.

In 2017, kotkamills, a Finnish cardboard manufacturer, introduced a new cup (food service) board, which does not use wax or plastic for water-proof, so it can be recycled, biodegraded or even composted as part of the waste stream of ordinary paper and cardboard.

In 2017, smart planet technologies, a Newport Beach CA company, launched "rescue" for the UK market, which is a recyclable paper cup with polyethylene and mineral mixed coating, which can be recycled through a traditional paper recycling system.