STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. The British Museum is preserving a disposable cup. It's not one of those clear, plastic wine glasses used at this year's holiday parties. No, it's a clay cup thrown aside some 3,500 years ago. It was made by Minoans, members of an early European civilization. Archaeologists found so many thrown away they appear to be single-use items, signs of ancient prosperity and also signs that human beings have always had to manage waste. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.