Is There Plastic In Your Tea?

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Is there plastic in your tea? I’ve investigated whether tea bags contain plastic or not, and what you can do about it.

Is there anything better than a nice cup of tea? Even the very word itself is soothing and comforting – like a hug when you need it most.

A steaming hot mug of tea is the first thing I reach for in the morning. And quite often a cup of herbal tea is one of the things I reach for last thing at night  I measure my days based on my tea consumption. A good day if I’ve had plenty of cups, and a bad day if tea has been in scarce supply. In short, there are few things I love more than tea.

But what if your beloved cup of tea is hiding a dark secret? Let’s take a look.

Table Of Contents

Is There Plastic In Your Tea?

White mug on a wooden coaster with a blue text box that reads is there plastic in your tea?

I’m sad to report that some tea bags do contain plastic. It’s not just the wrapper on the box, or the pouch that some teas come in, but plastic is actually contained in the teabag itself.

Plastic in something as small and inconsequential as a tea bag might sound like a big deal. However, the non-biodegradable plastic used to make tea bags – known as polypropylene – means that any tea bags made with plastic aren’t 100% biodegradable and are made from non-renewable fossil fuels which helps drive climate change.

Even more worryingly, this use of plastic means we are releasing billions of microplastic particles – tiny shards of plastic – every time we make a cup of tea. We don’t even know the impacts that microplastic exposure has yet, but microplastics have been found everywhere – from our blood to the ocean floor.

Why Is This Plastic There?

You might be wondering why there is a need for plastic to be found in something as seemingly simple as a tea bag. There are two main reasons:

Strength & Durability

Paper teabags are made with a thin layer of plastic. The bags are then heat-sealed during the manufacturing process. This helps to ensure that your teabags don’t come open in the box, in your cup when steeped in hot water, or when you’re fishing out the tea bag with your spoon.

Cost Effectiveness

Plastic is cheap and can require less time and labour compared to other alternatives. This allows tea companies to meet demand while keeping costs relatively low.

Which Teabags Contain Plastic?

Thankfully, due to consumer pressure, many brands have phased out polypropylene plastic, and are now using industrially compostable materials. Check out my big guide to the teabags without plastic – that has been updated for 2024 – for a comprehensive picture of the tea/plastic landscape in the UK.

What You Can Do

If your favourite brand of tea still contains plastic, you can email them, or message them on X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook to ask them if they have stopped using plastic in their teabags and if not, when they plan to make a change. If enough people do this the companies will take notice.

Plastic-Free Alternatives

A tea strainer full of loose leaf tea, with a jar of tea and a white mug in the background.

if you are keen to enjoy your tea without the added plastic, the other option is to switch to loose-leaf tea. I’ve hunted down some handy accessories that might come in handy if you choose to do so:

What’s your favourite loose-leaf tea? I’m on the hunt for a really good loose-leaf decaff tea. It’s been a years-long search and I haven’t found anything that hits the spot yet. I’ve also started making my own herbal tea for a zero-waste approach – here’s how to dry mint leaves for tea and how to make lemon balm tea. I’ve found it’s very cost-efficient too.

ps: Found this post useful? You might want to check out my guide to glitter – also a microplastic. You can also check out even more surprising items that contain plastic. Prepare to have your mind blown!

Found this post useful? Please consider buying me a virtual coffee to help support the site’s running costs.

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