Whether you have a pot to wake up in the morning, or make a cup as a socially acceptable excuse to get up from your desk during the work day, tea is a major part of UK culture. As a whole, the country drinks over 100 million cups per day, or 36 billion annually! Tea brings people together and serves as a warm comfort during a dreary day. Seems harmless enough, right? How awful would it be if every time you brewed a cuppa you were releasing billions of microplastics (11.6 to be more precise) directly into your mug! Unfortunately, this is exactly what scientists at McGill University found and reported in a 2019 study.
The hidden dangers of tea bags
A microplastic is a piece of plastic which is less than 5 mm in length, and over half of the plastic pollution in our waterways can be traced to these particles, often coming from otherwise unassuming items, such as tea bags. Whilst the plastic isn’t coming from the actual tea leaves, many brands use plastic in the form of polyester or nylon in the mesh bags themselves (think those fancy “silk” pyramid bags), or more commonly, to heat seal them with polypropylene. Not only do we end up ingesting these tiny pieces of plastic (as much as 16 micrograms per cup!) in our tea, but they also find their way into our oceans whenever we pour a cup down the drain once it’s gone cold.
Scientists have identified a number of health risks associated with microplastic exposure and consumption, such as endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity and increased cancer risk. These risks are particularly concerning in the case of tea bags as the plastics are heated during the brewing process. It’s important to keep in mind that tea has been around for thousands of years before the tea bag. Thus, the tea bag microplastic problem is only a relatively recent issue, with tea bags not becoming common in the UK until the 1950s.
Bioplastics
Due to their plastic contents, tea bags are not compostable, recyclable or biodegradable. Instead of decomposing, this plastic will remain in our earth’s ecological sphere for hundreds or even thousands of years. As such, in recent years, many companies have switched to using polylactic acid (PLA), a plant based “bioplastic” in their tea bags and subsequently began branding their products as “plastic free”. But don’t be fooled! Whilst arguably better than traditional fossil fuel plastics, PLA plastics are still plastic and need industrial composting to biodegrade, meaning they cannot be chucked into your home compost. When tea bags containing plastic material – either oil or plant based – are improperly disposed of in the compost, their microplastics begin to accumulate in the soil, creating a dangerous environment for wild flora and fauna.
How to drink tea, plastic free
But you don’t have to give up your tea rituals just yet. A number of brands, offer truly, entirely plastic-free tea bags, opting for natural fibres in the mesh bag and a cotton stitch to keep it from falling apart in your cup.
An even better solution is to ditch the bag altogether and switch to loose-leaf tea.
Here at GreenSeas Trust we are pretty fond of our cuppa. Simply add a teaspoon of loose leaf tea to your favourite mug or teapot, add hot water and within seconds the tea leaves will settle to the bottom. Not only will you reduce the environmental impact of your cup, but you’ll benefit from the improved taste as the leaves continue to infuse the water.
Just remember, not to take the last gulp or you will end up with a mouthful of tea leaves!