Do you Know There is Plastic in Tea Bags? What?
Tea bags make it easier to brew your favorite tea (96% of people prefer tea bags than loose leaf teas). But did you know there is plastic in the bag itself? Several tea bag brands use polypropylene, a sealing plastic, to keep the tea bags from falling apart and to hold their shape.
A study from McGill University in Montreal suggests that billions of tiny plastic particles can be swallowed every time you drink your favorite tea. When your tea is steeped in hot water, the tea bags release microplastic and even smaller nanoplastic particles — and not just hundreds or thousands!
Where can you dispose of your tea bag after use? Trash can, food waste or compost bin? Because the bags contain particles of plastic, the only place it they can go is the landfill.
Unfortunately, there is no research about the health effects from swallowing that much plastic from tea bags. What if people drink 2 or 3 teas a day? I assume that nanoparticles get stuck in the body, tissue and organs. Let’s hope some get out with bowel movements.
If you want to drink a healthy tea, choose loose leaf tea in a stainless strainer or switch to a brand of tea you know isn’t using plastic in their tea bags and buy organic to avoid pesticides.
Read my latest blog about pesticides here:
12 Fruits and Vegetables You Should Buy Organic
8 Reasons Why you Should Drink Only Organic Coffee
Brands with tea bags that don’t contain plastic:
- Yogi Tea
- Traditional Medicinals
- Pukka
- Numi Teas
- Republic of Tea
- Stash
Brands with tea bags do contain plastic:
- Tazo
- Teas sold at Starbucks
- Mighty Leaf Teas
Read more:
Plastic in Tea Bags (and all the brands that don’t contain it) by Green Child Magazine
Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup by CBC News