Member-only story
Your Tea Bag Is Serving You 11 Billion Pieces of Plastic — And That’s Just the Beginning
Tea Bags Exposed: The Plastic Pandemic in Your Pantry
Are you a tea lover too? I used to think I was making a healthy choice. I’d flip open my wooden box of premium iced tea packets. I’d then tear the paper off of a sachet of beautifully scented tea and drop it into hot steamy water.
Then, I’d watch entranced as the water turned a lovely shade as the contents of the sachet steeped in the water. I thought I was transforming my tea cup with pure wellness. Little did I know, I was steeping more than tea leaves.
Billions of Plastic Particles in Every Sip
My healthy tea ritual was hiding a surprising and unsettling truth. I discovered that every time you brew a cup using a plastic-based tea bag, you sip approximately 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics along with that soothing cup of tea.
Let that sink in for a moment. You’re trying to eat and drink healthy, and in your drive to be your healthiest, you’re sipping plastic particles. Not that appetizing, right? And it’s a rude awakening for anyone who values health.
Microplastics: Tiny Particles, Big Problem
If you need a refresher, microplastics are minute plastic particles range in size from 1 to 5 millimeters. They come from the breakdown of larger plastic waste. They also enter our bodies from manufactured products like cosmetics, clothing, foods, and food packaging. In this case, tea bags.
Nanoplastics: The Invisible Threat
Nanoplastics are even smaller, measuring less than 1 micrometer. Plus, they’re even more concerning than microplastics, as science shows they can penetrate cells and disrupt biological processes. They’re also a menace to the environment.
