Common materials for disposable plastic cups include polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), and polylactic acid (PLA).

According to plastic recycling labels, the heat resistance of different materials varies significantly. For example, PP (No. 5) can withstand temperatures up to 120°C, PET (No. 1) up to 65°C, and PS (No. 6) is both heat-resistant and cold-resistant but cannot be microwaved. The compressive strength of disposable plastic cups varies depending on the material. Traditional plastic cups (such as PP, PS, and PET) have a compressive strength between 26N and 975N, while PLA plastic cups have a compressive strength between 26N and 151N. In terms of heat insulation, disposable paper cups are generally superior to disposable plastic cups. Corrugated and double-walled hollow paper cups offer the best insulation, with surface temperatures exceeding 20°C compared to ordinary PE plastic cups.

Some disposable cups claiming to be "biodegradable" contained non-biodegradable PP plastic and failed to degrade completely in tests simulating industrial composting conditions, with a disintegration rate of 0%. Tests showed that no microplastic migration was detected in PS, PET, and PLA plastic cup samples after immersion in boiling water for 2 hours. Some substandard products posed a risk of exceeding harmful substance limits; for example, some products were found to have excessive levels of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol, a substance classified as a Group 2B carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization.