Going Zero Waste with your Tea

Drinking Loose leaf tea is good for the environment. We look into the depth of recycling and going zero waste with your tea. 

Tea bags contain 96% non-biodegradable Polypropylene fibres. These are micro plastics that assist with keeping the tea bag in shape during the tea steeping process. These Microplastics 11.6 billion micro particles 3.1 billion nanoparticles for each cup brewed. 

Image this amount of waste you put into your body when you choose to drink a cup of tea using a tea bag. These micro plastics are a large source of the waste that biologists have seen in wildlife and within human bodies. We all know already that we cannot digest these fibres meaning that they stay in your body forever! 

So what is the solution?

Loose leaf tea has proven better health benefits and due to the lack of packaging is also better for the environment. Using a stainless steel tea infuser is an even better way to brew your tea as you are not letting the micro plastics steep into your tea when you use a plastic tea infuser. However there are many tea infusers that are made of Silicone which are safe to use as they have been made to withstand the heat of the water to ensure that your tea is not infused with Plastics.

But what is the difference to swapping to Lose Leaf tea?

When you choose Organic Loose Leaf tea you have improved taste and longer lasting tea. Less packaging and the tea leaves can be used in your compost heap straight from the infuser or strainer that assist with nutrients in improving your compost and therefore also benefiting your garden or produce. 

Loose leaf tea is one of the most sought after products for health professionals and people just wanting an improved tea experience. Many tea suppliers who choose to offer tea in tea bags also weigh out their tea based on one-time use (similar to single use plastics). This has a massive waste percentage (cover eyes emoji), and we all know that we are considerate of these plastics. These items include but are not limited to:

• Straws
• Plastic shopping bags
• Plastic cutlery and crockery 

Switching to a loose leaf tea is the way to decrease your one-time use waste, many loose leaf teas can be brewed more than once, and since they are sold in weight this means you can make up to 3 cups per infuser. Saving you money too.

How can you recycle your used Tea Leaves?

Recycling your used tea leaves is super easy. Here are our top 5 suggestions:

1. Keep your used tea leaves in a container to sprinkle over your plants, they do not need to be dried for this process.
2. Dry your leaves in reusable cloth and use it in your bath for a relaxing aroma that is good for your skin and then revert to suggestion 1 to dispose of them.
3. Use damp leaves in cloth and place over your eyes for a relaxing eye treatment, recommended here is black, green or white tea. You can then use suggestion 2 and 1 again.
4. Have bad odours in your home? Use damp tea leaves on chopping boards or dried leaves on carpets and vacuum over them to reduce the smells.
5. Make a face scrub using Rooibos tea leaves, as this is a caffeine free tea it is great for skin hydration and can be used as part of suggestion 2 and 3 to make a full tea spa day. 

Let us know in the comments what you think about going zero waste with your tea and share some more tips and tricks if you have found any along the way. We can’t wait to hear from you!