Neither paper nor plastic cups are actually "disposable" but we dispose of a lot of them! So much so, that they've become icons of our throwaway culture. The last time I got on a soapbox about the nastiness of some of the things we throw away (balloons), an anonymous industry person threw the book at me in a comment. Well, go ahead manufacturers of disposable cups! I'm not saying we shouldn't use them. But perhaps we could creatively repurpose them rather than dispose of them? And, in response to a comment thread on reddit: No, I don't really think anyone is actually going to craft with a used, lipstick-stained paper cup. But I do see completely unused "party supplies" being thrown out - those cups are fair game. And anything plastic can indeed be washed, reused and then repurposed. Or perhaps it's time to just look at these items in a new way: as cheap craft supplies, not disposable cups!? Here are 20+ ideas for you: