Paper cups can’t be recycled. In fact, 99.7% of them aren’t recycled. Paper cups can’t be recycled because they need special facilities to separate the coating over them (hydrophobic coating).
But that doesn’t mean they are completely useless. They are still better than plastic cups. Paper cups need much lesser resources over plastic cups to make them. Not only that, but they are also made of recycled material that can no longer be recycled further since they are made of poor quality paper.