Those cups remind me of this piece on the radio on disposable clay cups in modern India. Apparently the clay cups were being replaced in India by plastic at the

Those cups remind me of this piece on the radio on disposable clay cups in modern India. Apparently the clay cups were being replaced in India by plastic at the time of the report (2011). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9385244.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspon... Edit: reportedly the unglazed clay cups return to the earth quite quickly.