Thanks to consumer pressure, The Co-Op switched its own-brand Fairtrade 99 tea over to PLA teabags in 2018. Eteaket There are some issues around PLA. Firstly, sometimes the plant material used to produce PLA can be sourced from genetically modified (GM) crops. 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 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 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

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.

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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. 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.

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.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! 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 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

Microplastic is a huge problem, that is still being understood by scientists today. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm long. 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. 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

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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. If you want to know more, do read my guide on what is PLA and is it biodegradable for a more detailed deep dive. 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

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.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. I’ve put Twinings in the plastic category, rather than the plastic-free category because I consider them a work in progress. 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. As of May 2023, many teabags from big-name brands still contain plastic. These include the following brands. Lidl