IMHO I think that paper would be a good choice. You can throw them in your compost bin or if you don't have one, you can put them in your recycling bin.

At the paper and party stores, paper cups seem to come in all sizes - 3.5, 4, 7, 9, 12, 16 oz. Some have the fold out handles and are substantial - and, of course, can be tossed in the recycling bin.

While it's nice to be conservative in all things - it's a fact of life that some of our stuff, by its very nature, is disposable. Do you want a cupboard full of cheap plastic glasses to wash out and reuse for every party? Do you want throw-away plastics in the landfill? Or would young and old alike be satisfied with a 12 oz. recyclable paper cup for their beverage? I don't see the dilemma here. :-)

Being from a rural area, I haven't been in a party store -- the nearest being about 60 miles away, so I didn't know they come in a lot of sizes. It looks as if you have solved my problem. Thank you. The next time I'm in the big town, I'll head for a party store!

I would go with the plastic cups
can be washed and stored for another
outing or party,also can be used
at holidays for the kids.

Blueangel

If it were me, I would use my regular glasses for the adults (maybe except the very elderly) and work out how many guests need plastic cups. then I'd buy reusable ones just for them, youre likely to use them again at the next party, for the kids and even outdoors (I have some plastic cups I use outside because the wind always blows the glass ones over and they ending smashing). resuseable is always better than disposable.

We still have throwaway plastic cups, that we asked people not to throw out, and then we washed them and put them away again, from our wedding reception almost 12 years ago. We reused them for our housewarming party almost 8 years ago. Maybe we'll get them out for a 15th anniversary party :-).

Apparently you can also order compostable party supplies from www.greenevent.biz They might be a bit spendy, I don't know; on the other hand, you wouldn't have a 120-mile round trip to a party supply shop.

I agree with the thought of using glass whenever possible. They don't break as often as you might think. Especially if you are outside on grass. We use jelly and canning jars for drinking cups and I have found that they are so thick, they rarely break if dropped, unlike cheap thin drinking glasses.

Just read today that all glass contains at least 25% recycled glass if not more and that all glass is recyclable forever . How great is that ? I love the jar idea . I will start saving them today for future uses .