Based in Belfast, Suki Teaethically source and blend 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 Lidl’s pyramid teabags are made from PLA, making them industrially compostable. However, the rest of its teabags are sealed using polypropylene. I can’t find any details to say that they looking to switch to more sustainable options, which is a disappointing step by Lidl. Marks & Spencer I haven’t been able to find any information which suggests that Morrisons’ own-brand teabags are plastic-free. This means that for now, Morrisons is on the list of teabags that do contain plastic, until I hear otherwise. Tesco Unilever-owned 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. Roqberry 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.

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 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 There are some issues around PLA. Firstly, sometimes the plant material used to produce PLA can be sourced from genetically modified (GM) crops. Many teabag manufacturers have made the switch to more planet-friendly teabags. However, it’s clear that some of the big players, like Twinings, Waitrose, M&S, Morrisons, and Lidl still have some way to go before all of the big teabag brands are plastic-free. 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.Similar to Morrisons, there is no information to suggest that Tesco’s own-brand teabags are plastic-free. I will press Tesco for an update. Tetley 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. I tweeted Twinings to ask about the plastic in their tea in January 2021 and they told me “ More than two-thirds of our products are loose-leaf or made using plant-based teabags & we’re working on switching the rest of our bags to a plant-based design. This will be completed in the next 6 months”. It’s a bit of a mixed bag at Waitrose. So far it appears its own brand of caffeinated tea bags is made from PLA, so can be disposed of in your food waste bin. However, it appears its own brand decaf tea range is not currently plastic-free. To Conclude The Plastic-Free Teabag Conversation Unilever-owned 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

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. 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? 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. The good news is that since 2017 tea manufacturers have started to remove polypropylene from their teabags. Teabag Terminology 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.

Sign up to our newsletter

Australian brand T2 reached the UK in 2014 and has quite a few High St stores dotted around the UK. I would say T2 is perhaps best known for its loose-leaf tea selection. However, its range of pyramid teabags is made from PLA for a more sustainable cup of tea. Teapigs 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. Thanks to consumer pressure, The Co-Op switched its own-brand Fairtrade 99 tea over to PLA teabags in 2018. Eteaket Sustainable tea stalwarts 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. Top plastic-free marks! Here is the current situation plastic-free tea bag situation right now in the UK (updated May 2023), with notes on how to dispose of each brand’s teabags, and if the brand offers loose-leaf tea. Aldi

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). Neal’s Yard Before we dive in, let me get you up to speed on some of the terminologies around teabags. Types of Teabags I’ve put Twinings in the plastic category, rather than the plastic-free category because I consider them a work in progress. Want to know which teabags without plastic exist in the UK in 2023? 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. If you want to know more, do read my guide on what is PLA and is it biodegradable for a more detailed deep dive.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. 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 This non-committal action on plastic in the rest of their range of teabags is in contrast to an M&S press release issued in 2018. Here, Marks & Spencer said they were taking a “ razor-sharp look at how we use plastics” and that “ we’re taking plastics out of all 450 million teabags we sell“. It’s disappointing that four years later that ‘ razor-sharp look‘ translates to a woolly ‘ we’re continuing to explore… in the future‘. Microplastic is a huge problem, that is still being understood by scientists today. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm long. 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.

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 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 in 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? 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.

Where To Buy

As of May 2023, many teabags from big-name brands still contain plastic. These include the following brands. Lidl