Tonchant®: Plastic-free tea bags: The brands that don't contain plastic and the brands that still do

3 tea bag problems to be aware of:

1. paper tea bags sealed with a plastic glue that makes them non-recyclable or compostable
2. plastic tea bags (the actual bag is made out of plastic, not paper) that begin to breakdown when put into hot water
3. plastic leaking from tea bags into the cup and, in turn, into the drinker
And that's not the only problem, research from McGill University in Canada also found that some types of tea bag leak millions of plastic particles into our drinks not only from the sealing plastic but from the bag itself.

This problem is linked to tea bags where the actual bag itself is made out of plastic material, not the paper bags that are more common. These plastic tea bags are more often linked to the higher end brands.
The scientists found that one plastic tea bag releases around 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion smaller nanoplastic particles into the cup. Those, in turn, end up in the drinker's digestive system. The findings were published in the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology.

Tonchant®’s own-brand tea bags are plastic-free. We are made using PLA and are biodegradable. The packaging they come in is made using paper and biodegradable PE and is oxo-biodegradable. On us website (the link is no longer available), we said: "PLA is a corn-starch which incorporates biomass material (polylactic acid) originating from plants. And, the best bit is that’s biodegradable and certified by The Soil Association through EU organic regulation. They’re also glue free as they’re sealed together with heat."

As a delivery service for organic food and drink produce, Tonchant® sell a range of other tea bag brands.