It seems that we can find plastic in even the most unexpected of everyday joys, even in the humblest of things, even a cup of tea.
This is because a number of the UK’s most popular tea bag brands use polypropylene, a sealing plastic, to fasten the tea bags and ensure that they hold their shape. For the environmentally-conscious tea drinkers among us, this means chucking your tea bag in food waste or a compost heap may all be in vain, as not all of it will break down as you may have hoped.
Tea drinkers in the UK get through 60.2 billion cups of tea each year, with 96% of brewed using a tea bag, according to the UK Tea and Infusions Association. That’s a lot of potential plastic pollution coming from our tea habit.
Earlier this week, Co-Op announced its plans to ditch the plastic strip that seals its own-brand 99 tea bags, replacing it with a new heat-sealing process. The bag is being tested this month and will be on the shelves later this year.
Louise Edge, senior oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, told HuffPost UK: “There is no reason why enjoying a cuppa should mean adding to our plastic waste problem. Plastic-free alternatives already exist.”
We spoke to various brands to find out where to get your tea bags if you’re keen on a plastic-free brew. But remember to check whether the all products are biodegradable, which means it breaks down, or compostable, which means it can be used as nutrient-rich soil. The two are often used interchangeably and are not the same.
Ones To Avoid
Tetley and PG Tips have confirmed to HuffPost UK that their teabags contain polypropylene plastic. Both are working on ways to be more sustainable.
Meanwhile both Twinings’ ‘heat-sealed’ and ‘string and tag’ ranges include plastic as well.
Eco-Friendly Alternatives
If you’re partial to a Twinings tea, fear not, its Loose Leaf pyramid teabag range contains no plastic and is fully biodegradable, including tags.
Pukka Herbs’ tea bags are completely plastic-free and stitched together with organic cotton. All tea bags, including tags, are fully-compostable.
When it comes to Teapigs, things aren’t so straight forward. Its tea bags are compostable, but only when put into food waste so they can be broken down industrially through local council recycling schemes. Basically, they won’t break down fast enough if you try to compost at home. However, you know the plastic bag the tea bags are stored in? The brand recently started using a material called ‘Natureflex’, which is made from wood-pulp and can be composted at home.
Co-Op isn’t the only supermarkets to make its own brand range is plastic-free. Check out Aldi’s premium Specially Selected range and Waitrose’s Duchy range, which is biodegradeable.
HuffPost UK also reached out to Lidl, Tesco and Asda regarding the recommended disposal of their own-brand teabags, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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