It's All in the "Tea" Bag - How to Be Environmentally Responsible with Your Tea Bags

Have you ever thought about how much waste you are creating when you drink your afternoon tea? This is, of course, assuming that you use a tea bag. Granted, a tea bag is a small thing - in fact, in terms of waste, it seems like it should be the least of your worries. Better worry-time can be spent on the waste of your daily newspaper or on excess packaging of food.
The thing is, though, even the little things count. People often overlook the little things, like tea bags, but in the end, all of those tea bags really add up to a lot of waste! Sure, your newspaper is bigger, but you very likely recycle it, right? Can you "recycle" a tea bag? No, but you can use it in your garden.
Environmentally Friendly Tea Bag Tips:
The Republic of Tea makes environmentally-friendly · Check for tea bags that do not use wasteful strings or tags. · Look for unbleached tea bags. They will add acidity to your compost.

· Make sure that your tea bags are biodegradable. Even the tea bag envelopes that Choice Organic Tea is packaged in is environmentally friendly. They also use 100 percent unbleached cotton string. · Choice Organic Tea use unbleached manila hemp and unbleached wood pulp for their tea bags. The Republic of Tea makes environmentally-friendly unbleached tea bags without staples, tags, or strings.

· Check for tea bags that do not use wasteful strings or tags. · Look for unbleached tea bags. They will add acidity to your compost. The nutrients in the tea are good additions to your future fertilizer, and most regular tea bags are biodegradable.

· Look for tea bags without staples, or at least remove the staples before you place the bags in your compost bin? They will add acidity to your compost. The nutrients in the tea are good additions to your future fertilizer, and most regular tea bags are biodegradable. · Instead of tossing out old tea bags, why not put them in your compost bin?
In general, tea bags are much more wasteful than tea diffusers, but they do not have to be. The key is to give your used tea bags a second life in your garden. If you do not have a garden, never fear. There are many more uses for used tea bags that may interest you. Tea bags can do anything from tenderizing meat to stopping bleeding gums. They can be used to remove furniture polish, seed a lawn, treat shaving nicks, and more.
Again, though, the key to reducing waste starts with buying environmentally friendly tea bags in the first place. Then, add them to your compost or find another use for them.
Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on tea and coffee, please visit
Tea and Coffee
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