Nanoplastics from teabags - is it time to go with loose-leaf tea?

[TheVat]

This study reminded me that our family's opting to use only loose-leaf tea may have been the way to go.  My partner uses a tea ball infuser, I just dump loose leaves in the cup.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-12-commercial-tea-bags-millions-microplastics.html

(this website is part of the Science X news network)

Quote

Plastic waste pollution represents a critical environmental challenge with increasing implications for the well-being and health of future generations. Food packaging is a major source of micro and nanoplastic (MNPLs) contamination and inhalation and ingestion is the main route of human exposure.

A study by the Mutagenesis Group of the UAB Department of Genetics and Microbiology has successfully obtained and characterized micro and nanoplastics derived from several types of commercially available tea bags. The paper is published in the journal Chemosphere.

The UAB researchers observed that when these tea bags are used to prepare an infusion, huge amounts of nano-sized particles and nanofilamentous structures are released, which is an important source of exposure to MNPLs.

(....)

The particles were stained and exposed for the first time to different types of human intestinal cells to assess their interaction and possible cellular internalization. The biological interaction experiments showed that mucus-producing intestinal cells had the highest uptake of micro and nanoplastics, with the particles even entering the cell nucleus that houses the genetic material.

The result suggests a key role for intestinal mucus in the uptake of these pollutant particles and underscores the need for further research into the effects that chronic exposure can have on human health.

 

[exchemist]

2 minutes ago, TheVat said:

This study reminded me that our family's opting to use only loose-leaf tea may have been the way to go.  My partner uses a tea ball infuser, I just dump loose leaves in the cup.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-12-commercial-tea-bags-millions-microplastics.html

(this website is part of the Science X news network)

 

I recommend buying a teapot and a tea strainer. You'll get less tannin scum in the cups and no leaves in your tea. And it's just classier all round - think Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds. 🙂

Loose leaf tea tastes better in any case, though it take a few minutes to brew. 

I must say I did not realise there were microplastics in teabags. 

 

[Externet]

42 minutes ago, TheVat said:

Food packaging is a major source of micro and nanoplastic (MNPLs) contamination and inhalation and ingestion is the main route of human exposure.

It is not the plastics packaging; it is the brainless ignorant idiots that dispose of them without care.  And some municipalities like mine that collect separated recyclable bins tossed to the same garbage truck...😢

[TheVat]

5 minutes ago, Externet said:

It is not the plastics packaging; it is the brainless ignorant idiots that dispose of them without care.  And some municipalities like mine that collect separated recyclable bins tossed to the same garbage truck...😢

With teabags it actually is just using them.  But yes, for sure, any plastic waste that's not processed will be degrading into micro plastics in the environment.  

52 minutes ago, exchemist said:

recommend buying a teapot and a tea strainer. You'll get less tannin scum in the cups and no leaves in your tea. And it's just classier all round - think Lady Penelope

The only one of those electronic marionettes series that jumped the pond was Fireball XL5, which I remember our NBC ran on Saturday cartoons.  So we were spared the posh Penelope.  I discovered this about her -

Later, her father was requested by the government to travel to India to organise a tea-growing community. The Indian climate did not agree with Penelope, so she returned without her parents to England, where she was put into the care of a governess... 

And, more importantly to this thread -

She takes tea almost religiously and can communicate with International Rescue via her Regency teapot.

[exchemist]

1 hour ago, TheVat said:

With teabags it actually is just using them.  But yes, for sure, any plastic waste that's not processed will be degrading into micro plastics in the environment.  

The only one of those electronic marionettes series that jumped the pond was Fireball XL5, which I remember our NBC ran on Saturday cartoons.  So we were spared the posh Penelope.  I discovered this about her -

Later, her father was requested by the government to travel to India to organise a tea-growing community. The Indian climate did not agree with Penelope, so she returned without her parents to England, where she was put into the care of a governess... 

And, more importantly to this thread -

She takes tea almost religiously and can communicate with International Rescue via her Regency teapot.

Exactly.  But the marionettes weren’t electronic. Sometimes you could see the strings. Lady Penelope was apparently based on Sylvia Anderson, the then wife of the series’ creator.

Fireball XL5 is one I remember, from when we first got a black and white TV set. Pretty appalling, though the take-off sequence, with the ski jump rail system, was cool.

[TheVat]

2 hours ago, exchemist said:

Exactly.  But the marionettes weren’t electronic.

They had strings, but also electronics...

Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and "animation")^[1] is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet TV series and feature films of the 1960s. These productions were created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. 

Thunderbirds is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was filmed between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry called "Supermarionation" combined with scale model special effects sequences. 

 

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, TheVat said:

They had strings, but also electronics...

Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and "animation")^[1] is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet TV series and feature films of the 1960s. These productions were created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. 

Thunderbirds is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was filmed between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry called "Supermarionation" combined with scale model special effects sequences. 

 

OK yes the lips.

[TheVat]

The term is possibly amusing to an American who lived through the 80s and the Game Boy onslaught, as it also breaks down into "Super Mario Nation."  😏

Which onslaught also increased plastic pollution.

And the thread is rescued from the dripping fangs of off topic irrelevance as they nearly snap together upon it.

[zapatos]

12 hours ago, Externet said:

It is not the plastics packaging; it is the brainless ignorant idiots that dispose of them without care. 

I guess I'm one of those brainless, ignorant idiots. What is the proper way to dispose of used tea bags?

[exchemist]

7 hours ago, TheVat said:

The term is possibly amusing to an American who lived through the 80s and the Game Boy onslaught, as it also breaks down into "Super Mario Nation."  😏

Which onslaught also increased plastic pollution.

And the thread is rescued from the dripping fangs of off topic irrelevance as they nearly snap together upon it.

Heh heh. 

But, back on topic, where is plastic used in teabags? I thought the casings were made of perforated paper?

[geordief]

4 hours ago, exchemist said:

Heh heh. 

But, back on topic, where is plastic used in teabags? I thought the casings were made of perforated paper?

I think Mr Vat told me a few weeks ago that you can buy teabags with plastic in them in the States.

Not sure if we ever had them over here.

I used to avoid them (teabags) for reasons of taste and expense but now buy them for the convenience (the donkeys  also like them but not as voraciously as the used coffee filters)

[TheVat]

4 hours ago, exchemist said:

But, back on topic, where is plastic used in teabags? I thought the casings were made of perforated paper

A lot are made from polypropylene or PET or nylon, and the paper ones tend to use plastic fibers as a sealant.  The OP paper detailed the release of MP particles from those with PP or nylon.

Some companies are switching to bags made only with plant fibers, like sugarcane or paper.  Without spamming, I will just say they are pretty easy to google.

This also relates to @zapatos question - the natural fiber bags will compost.  The ones with polymers, well, there is no good place for them - that's the point.  In the landfill, they will leach MP particles.  And they don't recycle.  

ETA: polyester fabric, btw, is PET.  So some of the natural tea bag advocates are also big on natural fiber clothing.  I'm not quite there yet, but I do limit my polyester content to 40%, on clothes that get frequent washing like teeshirts.  Usually a 60/40 cotton/poly blend.  

 

[exchemist]

25 minutes ago, TheVat said:

A lot are made from polypropylene or PET or nylon, and the paper ones tend to use plastic fibers as a sealant.  The OP paper detailed the release of MP particles from those with PP or nylon.

Some companies are switching to bags made only with plant fibers, like sugarcane or paper.  Without spamming, I will just say they are pretty easy to google.

This also relates to @zapatos question - the natural fiber bags will compost.  The ones with polymers, well, there is no good place for them - that's the point.  In the landfill, they will leach MP particles.  And they don't recycle.  

Thanks. I've now done a bit of investigation on the web and its seems a number of suppliers now only use biodegradable components.  Apparently even the glue used to seal the bags can be an issue, as you say.

Perhaps this example gives us an insight into just how pervasive plastic materials have become in modern life, and how much attention to detail is required to reverse out all the myriad ways they are, innocently but  thoughtlessly, used.   

25 minutes ago, TheVat said:

A lot are made from polypropylene or PET or nylon, and the paper ones tend to use plastic fibers as a sealant.  The OP paper detailed the release of MP particles from those with PP or nylon.

Some companies are switching to bags made only with plant fibers, like sugarcane or paper.  Without spamming, I will just say they are pretty easy to google.

This also relates to @zapatos question - the natural fiber bags will compost.  The ones with polymers, well, there is no good place for them - that's the point.  In the landfill, they will leach MP particles.  And they don't recycle.  

ETA: polyester fabric, btw, is PET.  So some of the natural tea bag advocates are also big on natural fiber clothing.  I'm not quite there yet, but I do limit my polyester content to 40%, on clothes that get frequent washing like teeshirts.  Usually a 60/40 cotton/poly blend.  

 

Afterthought: I've just had a look at cans (tins) used for food and drink and, yep, they have plastic liners that can leach microplastics too.  So before I get too smug about brewing loose leaf tea, as I aways have, I need to pay attention to tinned tuna and sardines, and the tinned anchovies and tomatoes that I use for pasta sauces.

The steel for cans used to be coated, electrolytically I presume, with tin to prevent corrosion by the contents, something known as tinplate, hence the British English terms "tin" and "tinned" where N Americans say "can" and "canned". Perhaps we should go back to tinplate. 

Edited 10 hours ago by exchemist

[TheVat]

Pervasive is the word.  My partner, possibly even more an anti plastic zealot than I, still occasionally finds bits of a neighbor dog's toy that was stuffed with poly fill and got run over by a lawnmower several summers ago.  Some bits landed in our yard and she finds them while pulling bindweed.  Even years later they appear much as they did when they first burst out of the dog toy.  Though less of a weeding enthusiast, I have been startled when I do weed at the sheer number of plastic scraps that blow into our yard.  And, sometimes, plastic bags caught in the branches of trees (it's quite windy here).  

[StringJunky]

It seems teabags are moving over to using polylactic acid, which is plant-based, rather than fossil fuel origins, but is still technically plastic and requires industrial methods to decompose. There is also the issue of recycled plastic being used, and the concomitant risks of contamination with fossil-based plastics. It is not ascertained whether Pthaalates are used in teabag plastics, which makes plastic materials flexible, and are known endocrine disruptors in fish.  If the plastic used is recycled then its anybody's guess. I'm going to buy a teapot, thinking about it, although I am mainly a coffee drinker.

Edited 8 hours ago by StringJunky