Disposable cups are not modern, ancient findings prove

The 3,500-year-old cups used for wine will be on the display at the British Museum.

The advanced civilization of Europe – the Minoans allegedly used the disposable cup to drink wine. Thousands of handle less, conical clay cups were discovered in the archaeological site in the palace of Knossos. The findings of this ancient disposable cup prove that the idea is not of modern age and even ancient civilization used it.

Curator of the British Museum, Juloa Farley said that people were surprised to know that single-use cups are not the invention of modern society. She said that the Minoans were showing off their wealth to other civilizations by throwing the disposable cups. Unlike today, in ancient time, Minoans got together in large groups but none of them wanted to take the load of washing the cups. Farley said she hoped the display would make visitors think creatively about reducing waste, instead of just feeling guilty.

The cup will be kept along with the waxed paper cup of early 1990s in the museum. Also, to show the extent of plastic pollution, the museum will also display objects including fishing basket made from plastic wrap and display pictures of the Pacific Ocean. Farley said that over 300 billion papers cups are used globally every year. The Minoan civilisation is tiny compared to the global consumerist economy that we have now.