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Talking tea bags, this is a rabbit hole as a few sibling commenters pointed out already: - most tea bags contain plastic themselves - pretty much every bakery

Talking tea bags, this is a rabbit hole as a few sibling commenters pointed out already: - most tea bags contain plastic themselves - pretty much every bakery / small coffee place place serves tea in paper cups lined up with plastic, it's very difficult to get a tea in a proper ceramic cup those days - waters heaters often have plastic lids - pretty much every insulated thermos also has at least a plastic cover For the last one, a friend has recently found some plastic-free thermos: https://www.kleankanteen.com/collections/plastic-free https://www.kleankanteen.com/collections/plastic-free Please share if you know others.

xandrius 2y ago
I think for most places in the world, tea is an activity done at home with own cups/glasses. Or at least, say in China/Taiwan, the heated tea gets made cold in steel containers and then served cold in plastic cups (e.g. For milk tea) else all is ceramic. The main point is that even who doesn't go to buy a tea elsewhere get in contact with microplastic. So, now many people might have to switch to loose leaf to avoid getting another source of microplastics in their daily lives.
- jajko 2y ago
  Loose leaves are more inconvenient compared to tea bags. All else equal dont expect major adoption just for yet another health scare. People in general are lazy.
  - xandrius 2y ago
    Not really interested in what others do with themselves, lifestyle is a personal choice. Although things like these, if found to have an impact, should be out of reach from the general public. I find it interesting how for many (except for things like MSG and fats) previously thought "health scares", especially regarding plastic and the likes, have been found to be detrimental to our health and still people sneer at these initial studies. Given that, I'd personally rather err on the side of caution, especially when the change is so minute to be frivolous. If someone told to stop eating, say, pizza then that would be a whole other story. But not using plastic with hot food/beverages? Not a big deal for me.
- warkdarrior 2y ago
  > So, now many people might have to switch to loose leaf to avoid getting another source of microplastics in their daily lives. Doesn't this study show that cellulose releases microplastics as well? I assume tea leaves have cellulose in them, so best to avoid tea altogether.
  - skirmish 2y ago
    If you are afraid of cellulose then you should stop eating any vegetables and fruits. They contain large amounts of cellulose also called "dietary fiber", which USDA says you need large amounts of: about 30 grams per day.
highfrequency 2y ago
Doesn’t the first product (bamboo topped lid) have a rubber ring to seal it?

xandrius 2y ago

I think for most places in the world, tea is an activity done at home with own cups/glasses. Or at least, say in China/Taiwan, the heated tea gets made cold in steel containers and then served cold in plastic cups (e.g. For milk tea) else all is ceramic. The main point is that even who doesn't go to buy a tea elsewhere get in contact with microplastic. So, now many people might have to switch to loose leaf to avoid getting another source of microplastics in their daily lives.

jajko 2y ago
Loose leaves are more inconvenient compared to tea bags. All else equal dont expect major adoption just for yet another health scare. People in general are lazy.
- xandrius 2y ago
  Not really interested in what others do with themselves, lifestyle is a personal choice. Although things like these, if found to have an impact, should be out of reach from the general public. I find it interesting how for many (except for things like MSG and fats) previously thought "health scares", especially regarding plastic and the likes, have been found to be detrimental to our health and still people sneer at these initial studies. Given that, I'd personally rather err on the side of caution, especially when the change is so minute to be frivolous. If someone told to stop eating, say, pizza then that would be a whole other story. But not using plastic with hot food/beverages? Not a big deal for me.
warkdarrior 2y ago
> So, now many people might have to switch to loose leaf to avoid getting another source of microplastics in their daily lives. Doesn't this study show that cellulose releases microplastics as well? I assume tea leaves have cellulose in them, so best to avoid tea altogether.
- skirmish 2y ago
  If you are afraid of cellulose then you should stop eating any vegetables and fruits. They contain large amounts of cellulose also called "dietary fiber", which USDA says you need large amounts of: about 30 grams per day.

highfrequency 2y ago

Doesn’t the first product (bamboo topped lid) have a rubber ring to seal it?