Paper, PLA or bacterial cellulose?

The short answer

Updated 10 October 2026.

A paper medicine cup is made of paper, but it often needs a lining to be watertight. That lining is often plastic. PLA is a bioplastic. It comes from plants, but it is still a plastic. Bacterial cellulose is neither a plastic nor paper. It is cellulose that bacteria grow as a sheet.

None of the three is best at everything. Which material fits depends on what you use it for and where it goes after use. For the medication round in hospitals and care homes, three questions matter most. Does the cup hold liquid? Does it contain plastic or PFAS? And what happens to it after use?

Paper medicine cups

Paper is made of cellulose fibres from wood. It is strong as long as it stays dry. Wet paper goes limp and leaks. That is why paper cups for liquids get an inner lining. Often that is a thin layer of polyethylene (PE), the same kind of plastic as in plastic bags.

Paper disposable cups often have a plastic coating to make them watertight. Under EU rules that makes them a single-use plastic product. Source (details and source)

Sometimes the barrier is not PE but made with PFAS. These are substances that repel grease and water and break down extremely slowly. What that means and which rules now apply is explained in Paper medicine cups, PFAS and the SUP Directive.

Is paper biodegradable?

Uncoated paper is. It is made of cellulose, which bacteria and fungi break down in nature. With a plastic lining it is a different story. The paper breaks down, but the plastic layer does not. Recycling is harder too, because the paper and the plastic first have to be separated again. In healthcare, used cups therefore usually just go in general waste.

What is PLA?

PLA stands for polylactic acid. It is a bioplastic. It is made from starch or sugar from plants, such as maize or sugar cane. Bacteria turn that sugar into lactic acid. A factory then turns the lactic acid into a plastic that can be melted and moulded, just like ordinary plastic.

So PLA is bio-based, made from plants rather than crude oil. But bio-based is not the same as breaking down in nature. PLA mainly breaks down in an industrial composting plant, where it is warm and moist. In soil or at sea that takes much longer. Many waste processors also do not want PLA in the organic waste, because it does not break down quickly enough in their plant. In practice, PLA therefore often ends up in general waste.

Under the SUP Directive, bioplastics such as PLA count as plastic too. That applies even if they are made from plants or are biodegradable. Source (details and source)

What is bacterial cellulose?

Bacterial cellulose is cellulose, the same substance as in wood and cotton. Bacteria make it themselves, as a dense sheet of very thin fibres. It contains no lignin and does not need to be melted. We shape the sheet into a cup. Read what bacterial cellulose is.