The Teabags Without Plastic In The UK In 2026
To support the running costs of Moral Fibres, this post may contain affiliate links. This means Moral Fibres may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to readers, on items purchased through these links.
Want to know which teabags without plastic exist in the UK in 2026? Look no further – I’ve rounded up the best eco-friendly and sustainable plastic-free tea bags out there right now. I’ve also shared the teabags with plastic, to help you avoid unexpected plastic in your beverages.
Back in 2017, I wrote about the surprising hidden plastic in teabags. Teabags that many of us were composting in our gardens or via our kerbside food waste pickup. That post had such an impact as many people learned for the first time that teabags contain plastic, alongside a host of other surprising items that contain plastic.
Since then, I’ve been keeping tabs to see where the tea industry is currently at in reducing plastic from the nation’s favourite drink.
As such, I’ve looked into over 20 teabag brands in the UK, to see what teabags without plastic are available. I’ve also looked into how best to dispose of the bags once you’re done.
Why Do Teabags Contain Plastic?
You might be wondering why there is a need for plastic to be found in teabags. Well, plastic (polypropylene to be exact) is added to the paper teabag to help heat seal them during manufacture.
Heat sealing the bags like this means that the teabags won’t come open in the box, or your cup. It also means that these tea bags aren’t 100% biodegradable. This is a problem in that those tea bags you are composting are leaving bits of microplastic in the soil.
What Is Microplastic?
Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm long. Although we can’t see most microplastic particles, it’s a huge problem, that is still being understood by scientists today.
What we know is that microplastics are found in the soil, in the sea, in our drinking water, inside fish and other animals we eat, and even in humans. When microplastics are in the food we eat and the water we drink, this means we are ingesting plastic, and the long-term effects of this are currently unknown.
Microplastic comes from a variety of sources. It can derive from larger plastic debris that has degraded into smaller and smaller pieces. However, it also comes from teabags that have been heat-sealed with plastic, that we have unwittingly composted.
How much damage can a teabag do, you may be wondering? Well, one teabag alone will do very little damage. However, when you consider that in the UK alone we drink more than 60 billion cups of tea a year, then it’s a lot of teabags and a whole lot more microplastic.
The good news is that since 2017 tea manufacturers have started to remove polypropylene from their teabags.
Teabag Terminology
Before we dive in, let me get you up to speed on some of the terminologies around teabags.
Types of Teabags
First off, you’ll see some discussion around types of teabags. Here is a visual guide to the types of teabags referred to in this guide.
What About PLA Teabags?
In this guide to teabags without plastic, you’ll see a lot of discussion around PLA. PLA stands for Polylactic Acid. PLA teabags are technically not plastic-free, as they are made from plant-based plastics. It is often referred to as a bio-plastic. This simply means the plastic does not come from a fossil fuel-based source.
There are some issues around PLA. Firstly, sometimes the plant material used to produce PLA can be sourced from genetically modified (GM) crops.
Secondly, PLA tea bags are not home-compostable. It’s therefore important to dispose of them correctly. If your local council collects your food waste or garden waste bin for industrial composting, they will compost quickly. However, if your council does not collect your food waste, then these teabags perform no differently than conventional oil-based plastic tea bags.
If you don’t have access to council food waste collections, then to dispose of PLA teabags it is best to tear open the bag to allow you to compost the tea leaves in your garden. Then put the teabag in with your general waste.
If you want to know more, do read my guide on what is PLA and is it biodegradable for a more detailed deep dive.
I don’t think PLA is a perfect solution. Like many aspects of sustainability, there are always compromises. However, aside from switching to loose-leaf tea en masse, I don’t think there is a perfect solution that could also make tea an affordable daily staple.
The Plastic-Free Teabags In 2026
Here is the current situation plastic-free tea bag situation right now in the UK (updated January 2026), with notes on what each tea bag is made of, how to dispose of each brand’s teabags, and if the brand offers loose-leaf tea.
Given that PLA tea bags technically are not plastic-free, I’ve clearly outlined what each brand’s teabags are made from. As such for each brand you’ll see text that says “made of PLA” or “PLA-free” to help you make informed purchasing decisions.
Aldi
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Aldi’s teabags are now plastic-free. In June 2021, Aldi confirmed it was removing single-use plastic from its own-brand range of teabags. We’re pleased to see that this has now rolled out across the country. Now all of Aldi’s own brand tea – including decaffeinated, and fruit and herbal infusions are made from PLA – so are industrially compostable.
Asda
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
In October 2022 Asda announced that all of its own brand teabags – including the Just Essentials and Extra Special ranges – will be made from industrially compostable PLA. Asda says “Tea is a staple in most customer’s households so for us to make a change which can make such a difference is a big moment for us.”
Bird & Blend Tea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Brighton-based Bird & Blend sells its hand-blended teas in PLA teabags. Or if you want to avoid PLA you can shop for loose-leaf tea. Alongside its standard black teas, the main area where Bird & Blend excels is in its unique tea blends. Think Rhubarb & Custard, or Chocolate Digestive flavoured tea for something a little different.
Brew Tea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
As well as its tasty loose-leaf tea selection, Brew Tea swapped over to PLA teabags in September 2017. Brew Tea then moved over to plastic-free packaging in 2018. Black tea is Brew Tea’s speciality, but it does carry a small range of fruit and herbal teas.
Clipper
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | String and tag teabags home compostable
Back in 2017, people were most shocked by the fact that Clipper’s unbleached organic teabags contained plastic. Thanks to consumer demand, Clipper took action, and switched its pillow teabags to a plant-based PLA several years ago, sourced from non-GM plant material.
Co-Op Own Brand 99
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin
Thanks to consumer pressure, The Co-Op switched its own-brand Fairtrade 99 tea over to PLA teabags in 2018. These are now made without polypropylene.
Dragonfly
PLA-free and made of PLA options available | Disposal dependent on the type of teabags you buy | Loose leaf tea selection available
Dragonfly Tea makes two different types of tea bags. Its string and tag bags are 100% plastic-free. Rather than being heat-sealed, they are folded and stitched with an organic cotton string, and can be composted at home. Meanwhile, its pillow teabags are made from PLA and should be disposed of in your food waste bin.
Eteaket
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Edinburgh-based Eteaket mainly sells loose-leaf tea. This is packaged in home compostable Natureflex™ bags and cardboard caddies. Its tea is not the cheapest. However, if you already have a caddy, then their loose-leaf tea is also available in 100% plastic-free refill bags, which are a little cheaper.
Whilst its range of teabags is small, all Eteakat tea bags are made from PLA. These are packed into home compostable Natureflex™ bags, and recyclable cardboard cartons for a smaller carbon footprint.
Good & Proper
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Good & Proper’s range of award-winning teas – from its black teas to its range of herbal infusions – come in PLA teabags. If you want to avoid PLA, you can also shop for a wide range of tasty loose-leaf teas.
Hampstead Tea
Mostly PLA-Free – made from unbleached paper | Home compostable or can go in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Hampstead Tea has a long history of sustainability. It was the first tea manufacturer to introduce stitched teabags rather than heat-sealed teabags. As such, its teabags have always been home-compostable.
Rather than resting on its laurels, Hampstead Tea has taken big steps when it comes to the environment. Consequently, the vast majority of its products are plastic-free (aside from its Earl Grey and Green Tea with Jasmine tea bag envelopes – apparently the bergamot oil they use in these teas requires a thin layer of plastic to act as a barrier).
Higher Living Tea
PLA-Free | Home compostable or can go in your food waste bin
Higher Living’s teabags are of the string and tag variety. They’re made from unbleached paper, and are sealed with an organic cotton string stitched into the paper for a proper plastic-free cuppa. There’s even an oddly fascinating video showing you how they are made.
Lidl
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin
Lidl finally announced in August 2023 that it would be switching from plastic tea bags to compostable ones after a long period of inaction.
Marks & Spencer
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Marks & Spencer quietly switched its teabags over to PLA in 2023, with very little fanfare. I think it’s because M&S issued a press release way back in 2018, saying that it was taking a “razor-sharp look at how we use plastics” and that “we’re taking plastics out of all 450 million teabags we sell“.
Despite the fact that it took six years, I am genuinely pleased to see that M&S’s teas are now industrially compostable.
Morrisons
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Another straggler, I’m pleased to finally report that Morrisons own-brand tea is now plastic-free. Morrisons says they sold 331 million plastic tea bags a year, so this is a great step forward.
Neal’s Yard
PLA-Free – made from abaca natural fibres | Home compostable or can go in your food waste bin
Neal’s Yard 100% organic and eco-friendly tea bags are FairWild™ certified. This is an international standard that supports the sustainable use of wild-harvested ingredients. It also ensures a fair deal all along the supply chain.
Neal’s Yard PLA-free teabags are made from natural abaca (a plant from the banana family) and are oxygen-bleached. This method is chlorine-free and kind to the environment. As such these plastic-free teabags can go straight into your home composter.
Nemi
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Nemi is a specialist London-based tea company that offers a variety of tea blends, both as loose tea and teabags. As well as selling great-tasting tea, Nemi provides employment to refugees to give them local work experience and job readiness skills to enter the UK workforce and to help them integrate into broader society.
All of Nemi’s teabags are made from PLA. Moreover, its packaging is compostable, and its teas are organic, fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified. The packaging is pretty funky too.
Nuditea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Nuditea makes speciality tea in the UK, with blends are sourced from trusted smallholders for exceptional flavour, sustainability and quality. It has a lovely selection of looseleaf and bagged teas – my favourite is the rooibos tea. So tasty!
NutraTea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin
Independent and family-run brand NutraTea make all of its tasty teas from PLA. Find all sorts of unique flavours – from elderflower and echinacea to pine needle and rosehip.
PG Tips
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
PG Tips made the switch to PLA a couple of years ago thanks to consumer pressure. Now its entire range can be industrially composted via your food waste bin.
Pukka
PLA-Free – made from natural abaca fibre | Home compostable or can go in your food waste bin
Pukka makes organic and fairly sourced herbal teas. Its string and tag teabags have always been plastic and PLA-free. However, each individual bag used to come wrapped in an unrecyclable plastic-lined envelope. The good news is that Pukka has taken its environmental responsibilities seriously, and now uses widely recyclable envelopes.
Punjana
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
I reached out to Punjana in November 2024, and they told me “Last year, and after extensive trials, we took the decision to make the change to 100% plant-based tea bag paper and they are sealed using corn starch, as part of our on-going commitment to the environment. Although there is a very slight change to the appearance of the paper, the brew performance remains unchanged and, importantly, our relationship with the environment is enhanced, and therefore can be recycled in your food-waste bin. On the topic of home composting, we would recommend that tea bags are put in the brown bin for industrial composting.”
Ringtons (with the exception of its organic teas)
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Ringtons says that its teabags are compostable with the exception of Ringtons Organic. These are still heat-sealed with plastic, and are not compostable.
Roqberry
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin
Roqberry’s flavourful fruit and herbal infusions come in PLA plastic-based pyramids. From banana-flavoured tea to blueberry, these unique tea blends tread lightly on the planet.
Sainsbury’s
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
I added Sainsbury’s to this plastic-free teabag list in August 2021. After news that from summer 2021 Sainsbury’s own-brand teabags will be plastic-free, as part of its ongoing commitment to halve plastic packaging by 2025, this finally rolled out in-store in August 2021.
The tea bags are made from PLA and are industrially compostable. What I also like is that the packaging is completely plastic-free too. The box isn’t wrapped in plastic, and nor is there a plastic foil bag inside the box. Accessible plastic-free tea for the win!
Suki Tea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Based in Belfast, Suki Tea ethically sources and blends loose-leaf teas, herbal infusions and fruit blends from all over the world. Suki Tea is best known for its tasty loose-leaf tea, however, it does have a selection of PLA-based pyramid teabags.
T2
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Australian brand T2 is perhaps best known for its loose-leaf tea selection. However, its range of pyramid teabags are made from PLA for a more sustainable cup of tea. It used to have a selection of stores in the UK, but now it seems it is online only.
Teapigs
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin
Tata-owned Teapigs have always made teabags without fossil fuel-based plastic – its tasty tea pyramids have always been PLA-based. However, Teapigs didn’t stop there. A few years ago the brand also switched the plastic inner bag to a home compostable bag.
Tesco
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Tesco finally switched over to plastic-free teabags in 2023. This means all of Tesco’s own-brand black teas, herbal teas and speciality teas will be compostable. Plus, in a bold commitment, all of the billion tea bags sold by Tesco – own-brand and branded – are compostable through council food waste collections.
Tetley
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Tetley had been saying for years that they are currently in the process of switching from plastic heat-sealed teabags. Up until the end of 2024 its website said: “With 9 million (teabags) to convert, we can’t change all of our bags at once, but we’re starting with our big sellers of lovely Tetley Original 120s and 240s“.
Tetley had been saying this for a very long time, and so I was overjoyed when I noticed in early 2025 that the boxes in my local supermarket have now all switched to PLA-based bags across all box sizes. Double-check before you buy, but I reckon if my small town supermarket in central Scotland sells them then yours probably does too!
Tick Tock Tea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Tick Tock’s range of naturally decaffeinated rooibos teas is available in both PLA teabags and in loose-leaf formats. Packaging-wise, the inner pouch of its Cold Brew Rooibos tea range can be composted via industrial composting facilities, and the pouches of all other Tick Tock teas are recyclable at large supermarkets.
Twinings
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
I’m delighted to report that Twinings have made the switch to plastic-free teabags. A spokesperson from Twinings said “We are pleased to say that all of the teabags we produce use plant-based biodegradable materials, from our black teas to our wide range of wellbeing blends. The material we use for our teabags will break down fully if placed into a local authority compost caddy or food waste bin.”
Twist Teas
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Twist Tea’s range of fruit, herbal and black teas are available in loose-leaf and PLA pyramid teabag formats.
Waitrose
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Despite multiple emails, I had no luck getting in touch with Waitrose about its teas – so I had them on the list of potentially containing plastic.
The good news is that a Moral Fibres reader was able to get in touch with them (thanks Paul!), and received the following response from Waitrose on 1st August 2025: “I can confirm we have changed the plastic adhesive in all of our own brand Waitrose tea bags to a plant-based alternative (PLA). This means all Waitrose Tea Bags can be disposed of in food waste bins or composted by our customers“.
Yogi Tea
PLA-Free – made from natural abaca fibre | Home compostable or can go in your food waste bin
American herbal tea brand Yogi is doing all the right things. Its string and tag teabags are made from abaca plant fibres, a species of banana native to South East Asia. The string attached to the teabag is made from certified organic cotton and the label is made from paper from sustainably managed forests. This means it’s completely free from plastic, and can go in your home compost bin.
The brand may be American, but I’ve found Yogi tea in various places in the UK. This includes Ethical Superstore and Holland & Barrett.
Yorkshire Tea
Made of PLA | Place in your food waste bin | Loose leaf tea selection available
Yorkshire Tea – including regular Yorkshire Tea, Yorkshire Gold, Yorkshire Tea Decaf and Yorkshire Tea for Hard Water – have, since September 2021, been manufactured from PLA.
Yorkshire Tea also says “All our products are now carbon neutral, and what we want next is for all our packaging to be “circular” – which means made from renewable, plant-based or recycled materials, and reusable, recyclable or compostable after use“.
Which Teabags Do Contain Plastic?
Whilst most tea companies have made the switch away from polypropylene, there are some teabags that still contain plastic. These include the following brands:
Taylors of Harrogate
I reached out to Taylors of Harrogate in October 2024 and whilst Yorkshire Tea is plastic-free, they confirmed their Speciality Teas are heat sealed with polypropylene plastic.
They told me “We haven’t changed these tea bags over to our new polylactic acid (PLA), fully plant-based paper yet because these tea bags are a different shape and construction to our regular tea bags and they’re made on their own special machines which take a lot longer to reconfigure for PLA paper. We’ve had a bit of trouble changing these machines over to make suitable bags out of the plant-based paper.
In addition, many of the Taylors of Harrogate speciality tea bags we make are exported and we make a commitment that our international packs are GMO free, something that’s important to consumers and retailers in many of our International markets. We need to engineer a plant-based tea bag that also qualifies as GMO free. This is a very difficult scientific task and contributes to the different time-scale of switch to PLA for our export tea in comparison with our UK Yorkshire Tea. We are currently working on this with our tea bag paper suppliers and we’re hoping to get the go-ahead to start testing it to see if it’s suitable at some point next year.”
It’s sounded like quite the process, so I haven’t been back in touch since. However, I plan on reaching out to Taylors very soon to see if this situation has changed in 2026.
The Best Way To Avoid Plastic In Your Tea
Given that PLA is still technically a plastic, and most brands use PLA, the very best way (and most affordable way) to avoid microplastics is to buy loose leaf tea.
There are then a host of ways to brew your tea to avoid getting leaves in your cup. My collection of tools is above (tea is serious business in my house). You can see I’ve got a glass teapot with an inbuilt metal infuser, a metal seive with a handle, a metal basket, a reusable cotton tea bag, and a metal infuser that you dunk in the water.
My personal favourite is the metal basket (mine is old, but try Bird & Blend for something very similar). It’s easy to use; quick and easy to clean; and doesn’t take up much space.
Here’s why I don’t rate the others as much:
- The seive is only ok if you’ve pre-brewed your tea in a tea pot, so you need to store and clean a tea pot.
- The reusable tea bag is easy to fill, but a bit of a faff to empty out and to clean. I don’t feel it gets very clean; stainless steel feels more hygenic.
- The metal infuser doesn’t give the tea enough room to expand in, so I find the flavour of my tea tends to be weaker when I use this.
- The teapot works well, but there’s some plastic in the lid so it’s not fully plastic-free (although not single-use).
What To Do If Your Tea Brand Of Choice Isn’t Mentioned Here
If your tea manufacturer of choice isn’t mentioned here, then I recommend dropping them an email them or contacting them on social media to ask about their teabags. They may also have an FAQ or sustainability page on their website, that should contain the information you are looking for.
More Sustainable Tea Resources
Phew, that was a long one! Time to put the kettle on for a plastic-free cuppa I think! If you’ve enjoyed this, then do also check out my guide to the best oat milk. I’ve looked into all sorts of ethics behind the most popular oat milk brands in the UK and uncovered all sorts of murky things.
Found this post useful? Please consider buying me a virtual coffee to help support the site’s running costs.
Sign Up For The Moral Fibres Substack
Get all the latest articles from Moral Fibres straight to your inbox, once a month, free of charge through Substack. You can also upgrade to be a paid Substack subscriber, where you’ll receive an additional two exclusive articles a month. Sign up now:
Thank you so much for all this work and research- it’s incredibly helpful. I want to reduce my exposure to microplastics but at the same time I love tea!
Just wanted to mention an Irish brand called Barry’s which you can get in the uk Morrisons and on Amazon. Their website says the teabags are 100% biodegradable
Aww, thank you Helen, and so glad I could help you out! And thanks so much for the Barrys recommendation – I’ll check that out!
No plastic, only PLA –what?
PLA is a plant-based polymer usually made from things like corn starch or sugarcane, so it’s not an oil-based plastic in the traditional sense. PLA teabags don’t break down in home composting setups. If you want teabags that can truly go in your garden compost, I’ve outlined the teabags that aren’t made from PLA or traditional plastic, and I’ve outlined the brands that offer loose leaf options if you’d prefer to sidestep the issue entirely.
I’ve been back again and again to your site for years Wendy – appreciate this so much! I actually came looking for elderberry syrup and as always stumbled on something else I’ve been meaning to research! Huge thanks x
Thanks so much Kirsty – you’ve absolutely made my day with this lovely comment! SO glad I could help!
Thanks for your great article although I still find it confusing to know what tea bags are plastic free….
Despite what you say above, Tetley’s website says….”We’ve worked hard to ensure that our tea bags are 99% bio degradable. However, as a result of the manufacturing process, Tetley tea bags do contain a very small amount of plastic to ensure the bags remain closed for you to enjoy your cup of tea.”
Hi John, I can’t find this text on the tetley.co.uk site. Are you able to share a link to the page that says this? It sounds like this refers to their older teabags that were heat sealed with plastic.
I’ve read this article with a great deal of interest. But haven’t found anything about the glue that sticks the bags together,( might of missed it though as it’s a very long article).
Can anyone shed any light on whether the glue is plastic free?
Hi there, I don’t think I covered glue in the article, but I believe most PLA teabags are sealed by ultrasound instead of glue – they use high-frequency sound waves to create friction and fuse the fibres together, forming a secure seal without the need for adhesives. String and tag teabags tend to be stitched together, so also avoid the use of glue. It’s always best to clarify with the brand of tea that you drink to double-check though.
Thanks for doing this. Are you going to do an article on plastic in coffee bags. I asked M&S about theirs and they freely admitted they contained plastic but I have no idea about the others – the main one being Taylors of Harrogate. I think I will ask them and see what answer they give me.
Best wishes
Thanks Michael. I don’t have one in the works but if there is enough demand from readers then I will. I don’t use coffee bags, but I think Percol coffee bags are plastic-free. If you’re after instant coffee, both Littles and Percol are both now plastic-free. Otherwise ground coffee made in a cafetiere is a quick and easy low-waste option!
Many thanks for writing this, it’s a real eye-opener. It’s sounds like that we are being “green washed” when it comes to PLA. The question of toxicity in humans with PLA still remains, but it looks like it’s causing many gastro-intestinal illness’s and is also linked to to colon cancer: https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/biodegradable-plastics-remain-a-hidden-source-of-harmful-microplastics/ I’ve now switched to loose tea!
Thanks Zak, that’s really interesting to know – appreciate you sharing that.
Wendy, this is so helpful, thank you. I would love to find out if Thompson’s Teas, also based in Belfast, use plastic based teabags.
My pleasure Sophie! I can find zero information on the Thompson’s Teas website, so I’ve dropped them an email. I’ll let you know when I hear back.
I have found the best way to avoid the plastic in tea bags is to use loose tea. Buy a coffee strainer add a teaspoon of tea pour boiling water through the tea add milk and you have a waste free cuppa. I have been doing this for 55 years. The spent tea leaves are emptied on the garden.
Chris
Thanks for the tip Chris!
Hi Wendy, I wonder if you know whether DRAGONFLY organic Tea Bags contain plastic? Thank you. Vanessa
Hi Vanessa, Dragonfly have a good webpage outlining the details of each teabag type (it seems they have a few different types of bags!): https://dragonflytea.com/pages/dragonfly-tea-packaging
Do you know about New English Teas? I’ve been trying to find out but can’t find anything on their website.
I’m afraid I haven’t heard of that brand Julie. I’ve just asked them via email – I’ll let you know if/when I hear back!
Just got a reply from New English Teas, Julie: “Our teabags are made from 100% unbleached pulp and are heat-sealed. Because of this, they can be slightly less robust than PLA sealed bags, but we think it a fair trade off to remove any plastic content (plant-based or otherwise) from our teabags.”
Thank you!!! Have you looked at coffee bags as well (or would you be able to)?
My pleasure Joanna! And I’m afraid I haven’t looked at coffee bags yet – but it’s definitely something to consider for a future post!
Interesting read
Thanks Helen!
Thanks so much Wendy
Hi. Can you please also review Birchall, Taylors and Tea India?
Pg tips are no longer owned by Unilever. Their pyramid teabags were home compostable . The new brand owners have reverted to square bags, presumably generically sources and therefore possiblynot compostable. They have not responded to my enquiry yet.
I would just like to say I have had tummy problems for a long time, when I read about the chemicals used in decaff I stopped immediately and my tummy improved, I found that ordinary tea bags upset me too so I have stopped using tea bags changing to loose, people just do not know what chemicals are in food today, I will never have decaff coffee or tea again
That’s really interesting Daphne, thanks for sharing. I think we all assumed that teabags just contained paper, so it was a bit of shock for many people when it became more common knowledge that they were actually made up of plastic too.
I’m (sadly) less concerned about recycling than drinking billions of microplastics per cup.
I’m glad to see that Tetley is transitioning. If I’m to understand, the plastic is in the gluing process, not the bag per se. Is that a risk of microplastics?
At home I just use leaf – so much more healthy and environmental. But that just doesn’t work in the office.
Maybe I just dump the tea leaves out into the cup … :)
Hi there, in most cases the thermoplastic is woven into the cellulose teabag paper so the plastic becomes an integral part of the teabag. There is a risk of microplastics from these teabags. I’ve worked in places that don’t offer food waste collection. Could you take a small container to work, and pop the used leaves in there, and bring them home and compost them?
Hi There,
Would you happen to know about any wholesaler where I can get empty plastic free pyramid tea bags. I would like to make my own tea but it is so hard to find!
Sorry, I don’t know about wholesalers – I just focus on the consumer side of things, so it’s really not my area! Good luck in finding them though!
Not a wholesaler but there are plenty of places that sell fillable tea bags. Most are flat though not pyramid. Chacult do paper ones. Storage Boutique on ebay do cornstarch based ones.
Underrated article. This is so helpful as tea lovers like me are too lazy to do any research.
In my country(Japan), ITO EN released that they’ll be using PLAs from 2021 for their green tea tea bags. I couldn’t find any other Japanese tea makers making an announcement about this matter but as we have organic powder tea which has less microplastic problems compared to tea bags, many Japanese might be less interested in this problem compared to others.(this topic isn’t talked much which is disappointing)
I think I’d go for Neal’s yard or Pukka as they are PLA free.
Thank you T.H.! I’m working on a big explainer to PLA – outlining all the pros and cons – so do watch this space!
Thanks for this excellent article. I just wanted to say that Aldi’s Specially Selected Peppermint Infusion teabags, despite claiming to be 100% biodegradable, do not break down in my compost bin. Not even after a year and not even a little bit! They come out looking exactly the same as they went in.
I really just wanted to make the point that PLA really doesn’t break down in your compost bin at home. The “100% biodegradable “ label is very misleading. I wish manufacturers would indicate whether teabags are suitable for home composting or just for industrial composting. For now, I think we’ll have to switch to loose leaf tea.
I know, it’s so frustrating Juli. That’s why I’ve got a big section on PLA and highlight how each teabag should be disposed of – but brands should definitely make it clearer on the packaging.
Have just started composting and have been chucking the teabags in :( . I’d love to go to loose tea but I need to use decaf and I’ve yet to find a loose decaf tea that is drinkable (and vaguely affordable!) Anyone got any tips?
This is the quest I’ve been on Claire, and haven’t yet found any good loose leaf decaf. I’m not sure why it’s so different. If you are composting at home, you can rip the teabag open and compost the tea leaves. If your local council collects food waste, then PLA teabags can go in your kerbside bin – even if it’s just the empty bag rather than the leaves.
Do you know if it’s safe to just use the contents of the tea bags of the brands that I have now learned use plastic or other unwanted properties? I was just about to dump all the stuff that isn’t good to use.
Hi Risa, yes, it’s safe to use the contents of the teabags. If your teabags are sealed using plastic, you can rip them open and compost the tea leaves and then put the empty teabag in your general waste bin.
Hi Wendy, a brill well, researched article, as always.
I use Dragonfly Darjeeling Tea Bags and they come in a cardboard box and are plastic-free (as far as I know).
Thanks Vanessa, I had completely forgotten about Dragonfly!
After reading about plastic in tea bags I made the switch to loose leaf tea a few years ago. Yes it was initially a faff, but it’s just become part of my routine now and I will never buy tea bags again. Although I have a tea pot with a built in infuser I tend to just make a cup at a time and have an individual infuser. Once used the leaves go in my compost bin and the infuser goes in the dishwasher occasionally which removes the tannin stains. I actually think it makes a nicer cup of tea as well.
Love this Rosie. I agree – I do think loose-leaf tea tastes better, and there’s something so nice about sitting down to a pot of tea. It always feels more decadent!
Update 28/10/2022:
Asda’s own-brand tea bags now use PLA rather than oil-based plastics.
“Asda has made a major change to its own brand tea bags by introducing plant-based packaging, meaning that the 550 million tea bags it sells each year can be disposed of in kerbside food waste bins.”
Link:
https://corporate.asda.com/newsroom/2022/10/28/asda-makes-big-change-to-all-its-tea-bags#:~:text=Asda%20has%20made%20a%20major,in%20kerbside%20food%20waste%20bins.
Thanks so much for the update! Will be sure to update the article!
Thank you. That was a really useful update.
Thanks so much Karen, glad to hear it was useful!
What about Typhoo?
I am not sure about Typhoo. I did email them a long time ago, and got no reply from them. I just checked out the Typhoo website and can find nothing about their tea bags being plastic-free, so I would assume that the bags do contain plastic unless you hear otherwise.
Im always keen to buy the clippers organic unbleached tea bags but they come lined in a sliver foil material , do you or anyone know if its recyclable ?
I searched on a new box of Lidl’s Knightsbridge Decaff in vain for the information I wanted. The Box can be recycled, the Film cannot (although it may now be possible to take it to Co-Op recycling points?), but there’s no mention of plastic on the bags. There is some semi-official looking logo about Forestry, but that doesn’t help.
So for now, I’ll try them for taste and continue splitting the bags for composting.
I don’t think brands don’t have to disclose whether their teabags contain plastic or not on thh box, so I’m of the opinion that unless the box specifically says the teabags are plastic-free then assume they have plastic in them.
I have never gone to teabags, I use loose tea and a teapot. The teapot is a brown betty made in the UK. I tip the used tea on the garden to feed the worms. Sometimes it’s good to be old fashioned.
I have a Brown Betty too Chris – it’s my favourite – makes such a good cup of tea! And that’s exactly what my gran did with her used tea! :)
I got this letter from Twinnings July 16, 2012-
Brenda Cook (Twinings of London)
Jul 16, 2021, 5:48 PM EDT
Hi Dagmar,
By 2025, we will ensure that, in all our markets, our consumer packaging is reusable or recyclable and our tea bags are compostable. In markets where it’s possible, we will also increase the recycled content of our packaging, find alternatives to single-use plastic packaging, and work to reduce the packaging we use. Twinings is working with its current supplier to develop specifications for plastic-free tea bag. All the materials in our tea bags are fully approved for food use and are of a standard used across the tea industry for many years.
Thank you for contacting us and sharing your opinion. We pride ourselves in delivering the highest quality of teas and service to our consumers. Your input will be shared with our New Product Development and Quality team.
Thanks,
Brenda
Great info!! Thanks for sharing this article.
Can you tell us what Morrison’s organic Teabags are made from please? I’ve been looking online & thought you might help!
Personally I’m unhappy with even using PLA as I want to home compost my teabags. Thanks 💚
Hi Gabrielle, I’m not sure I’m afraid, your best bet would be to email Morisson’s directly to ask them, or to ask them on social media!
I hadn’t heard about plastic in teabags until recently….so for a few months I have painstakingly been splitting my teabags and throwing away the bags before composting the dregs. For the last two weeks I have been digging on my allotment and using my compost and realised that this year I haven’t seen any teabags in the mix….they used to remain whole. I use Tetley Decaff….so no need to split the bags any more. :) thanks so much for the info.
My pleasure Hazel!
Fascinating Hazel, how wonderful :)
A wonderful article that reminded me of other brands I can use. I have Clipper, Pukka and PG Tips in my household.
SO good to show people the other options out there. I run a small business called Coconut and Cotton and we do lots of plastic free goods including loose teas. Plastic in tea bags is still something a lot of people don’t know about!