From tea to micro-plastics
Hey guys,
Sorry for the late posting today and sorry, It's a REALLY long one!! But it's worth the read, trust me!
I am going to be talking to you about tea bags (partially). It was only fairly recently publicised that tea bags in fact contain small amounts of plastic. This may not sound like a big problem, but it actually is huge, because of the amount of tea consumed even just in the UK is massive.
Tea bags are only the tips of the ice berg (see what I did there?), all plastic products that end up in the ocean or environment contribute to this particular problem: micro-plastics. Let me be clear here, the definition of micro-plastic is a piece of plastic that is 5mm or less in size. There are two different types of micro-plastics, those that develop through weathering over time either in the ocean or the environment, and those that are manufactured (known as micro-beads). It is scary how long micro-beads have been manufactured without public knowledge (around 50 years or more). But we are catching on to the industries sneaky additions of chemicals and plastic into their products and the public are not standing for it anymore.
What world governments are doing about it...
In 2015 president Obama banned micro-beads in the US, this was shortly followed by Canada banning micro-beads in products coming into effect in mid 2018. We are now in 2019, and the people of the UK are asking, where is our ban? Recently there has been a petition going around with over 30,000 signatures demanding that a ban is placed in the UK. In 2016 the UK pledged to do this (but they have not done so yet). The EU have advised companies to take micro-beads out of their products, but have not yet banned them. Some companies are in fact taking out micro-beads even though they are not yet banned.
Here you can look up all the products with micro-beads in them currently in your area: https://www.beatthemicrobead.org/product-lists/
Products that have micro-beads present include toothpaste, exfoliation scrubs, nail polish, lip balm, shampoo, Laundry powder and dishwasher soap pods. The main industry that everyone seems to be focusing on are the skin care products and toothpaste, but laundry and dishwasher products are used constantly by everyone as well. This list is really concerning as these are all everyday products that the majority of people use all the time. Micro-beads are so small that they go straight through our drainage systems and directly into the ocean or environment, where they then are causing complete havoc. Birds mistake them for seed, fish and aquatic life mistake them for food, they end up in the food chain (and into our food), they are toxic, so are killing marine life and birds, I'm sure you get the picture. Another thing which I recently discovered, is that micro-beads soak up toxic chemicals!
Other than all these products, micro-plastics are building up in the ocean and environment through the break down of other plastic products as well. Another way they enter the environment is when you put your washing machine on and wash your clothes. Small fibres from the clothes break away, go through the drainage system and out into the world. The micro-plastic build up is on such a huge scale that it is effecting the environment in a big way.
So what can we do?
1) Try to avoid buying products with micro-beads in them. The list of products without them is fairly small - here is an article that talks about the safe brands:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/19/microplastics-which-beauty-brands-are-safe-to-use
2) Stop using products with micro-beads in them. Do you really need to use exfoliator?
3) Make your own - You can make your own face scrubs, soaps and even dishwasher and laundry powders. A magazine I recently discovered called Willow & Sage is a good one to try for body care products like soap, lip balm, bath bombs and loads more all made from natural ingredients. In the future I plan to do blog post recipes for things like this so stay tuned :)
4) To reduce micro-plastics that are the result of plastic pollution that ones simple, reduce your plastic waste as much as possible and be a responsible recycler. Also things like beach cleans are a good way to get involved in the reduction of this problem, or supporting ocean clean up charities.
Another thing you can do to reduce micro-plastics from your washing machine (which someone recently recommended to me) is using a Cora Ball, which are themselves made of plastic, but they collect lose fibres in your washing machine to avoid them going into the ocean. This isn't a permeant fix to this problem, but is a working solution for now.
Finally, back to the tea...
There has been a lot of upheaval in the tea industry recently. The public have been demanding plastic free tea bags all round! There are (and have been for quite some time) plastic free tea bag brands available. One I have known about for quite some time is Tea Pigs, who have even gone so far as to use plant ink for the printing on their boxes and a plant based, plastic like material for the packaging. You can't get much better than that! Many of the big companies such as PG Tips have been developing their own plastic free bags, as well as biodegradable ones, however under EU law biodegradable products can still have small amounts of plastic in them, so be careful!
One thing that I think is crazy, is that you really have to look carefully at plastic free products to even find where it says 'Plastic free'. I think companies who are plastic free need to shout it out as loud as possible! Big bold green letters please! Also, most plastic free brands are currently quite pricey, but hopefully as more brands ditch the plastic, plastic free bags will become more affordable.
You can find a good list of plastic free tea bag brands here:
https://pebblemag.com/magazine/eating-drinking/5-minute-guide-to-plastic-free-tea
One final way to completely get rid of any waste involving the amazing practice of drinking tea. Is to go back to basics. Start using loose tea. You can buy small tea dunkers for one, or just use a pot and a strainer if you have more people. You can then dispose of the tea on your garden (which is great for the soil), or on a compost heap.
Thank you SO MUCH if you managed to get to the end of this blog post, and I hope you consider making this switch.
Some more reading material:
An article on how clothing is putting micro-plastics into the environment:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibers-plastic-pollution-oceans-patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads
A paper done in 2012 on micro-beads:
https://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/pollution/positionpaper-microplastics-august2012.pdf
Sorry for the late posting today and sorry, It's a REALLY long one!! But it's worth the read, trust me!
I am going to be talking to you about tea bags (partially). It was only fairly recently publicised that tea bags in fact contain small amounts of plastic. This may not sound like a big problem, but it actually is huge, because of the amount of tea consumed even just in the UK is massive.
Tea bags are only the tips of the ice berg (see what I did there?), all plastic products that end up in the ocean or environment contribute to this particular problem: micro-plastics. Let me be clear here, the definition of micro-plastic is a piece of plastic that is 5mm or less in size. There are two different types of micro-plastics, those that develop through weathering over time either in the ocean or the environment, and those that are manufactured (known as micro-beads). It is scary how long micro-beads have been manufactured without public knowledge (around 50 years or more). But we are catching on to the industries sneaky additions of chemicals and plastic into their products and the public are not standing for it anymore.
 |
| A range of ways to drink tea, going from plastic filled, to plastic free to zero waste |
In 2015 president Obama banned micro-beads in the US, this was shortly followed by Canada banning micro-beads in products coming into effect in mid 2018. We are now in 2019, and the people of the UK are asking, where is our ban? Recently there has been a petition going around with over 30,000 signatures demanding that a ban is placed in the UK. In 2016 the UK pledged to do this (but they have not done so yet). The EU have advised companies to take micro-beads out of their products, but have not yet banned them. Some companies are in fact taking out micro-beads even though they are not yet banned.
Here you can look up all the products with micro-beads in them currently in your area: https://www.beatthemicrobead.org/product-lists/
Products that have micro-beads present include toothpaste, exfoliation scrubs, nail polish, lip balm, shampoo, Laundry powder and dishwasher soap pods. The main industry that everyone seems to be focusing on are the skin care products and toothpaste, but laundry and dishwasher products are used constantly by everyone as well. This list is really concerning as these are all everyday products that the majority of people use all the time. Micro-beads are so small that they go straight through our drainage systems and directly into the ocean or environment, where they then are causing complete havoc. Birds mistake them for seed, fish and aquatic life mistake them for food, they end up in the food chain (and into our food), they are toxic, so are killing marine life and birds, I'm sure you get the picture. Another thing which I recently discovered, is that micro-beads soak up toxic chemicals!
Other than all these products, micro-plastics are building up in the ocean and environment through the break down of other plastic products as well. Another way they enter the environment is when you put your washing machine on and wash your clothes. Small fibres from the clothes break away, go through the drainage system and out into the world. The micro-plastic build up is on such a huge scale that it is effecting the environment in a big way.
So what can we do?
1) Try to avoid buying products with micro-beads in them. The list of products without them is fairly small - here is an article that talks about the safe brands:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/19/microplastics-which-beauty-brands-are-safe-to-use
2) Stop using products with micro-beads in them. Do you really need to use exfoliator?
3) Make your own - You can make your own face scrubs, soaps and even dishwasher and laundry powders. A magazine I recently discovered called Willow & Sage is a good one to try for body care products like soap, lip balm, bath bombs and loads more all made from natural ingredients. In the future I plan to do blog post recipes for things like this so stay tuned :)
4) To reduce micro-plastics that are the result of plastic pollution that ones simple, reduce your plastic waste as much as possible and be a responsible recycler. Also things like beach cleans are a good way to get involved in the reduction of this problem, or supporting ocean clean up charities.
Another thing you can do to reduce micro-plastics from your washing machine (which someone recently recommended to me) is using a Cora Ball, which are themselves made of plastic, but they collect lose fibres in your washing machine to avoid them going into the ocean. This isn't a permeant fix to this problem, but is a working solution for now.
Finally, back to the tea...
There has been a lot of upheaval in the tea industry recently. The public have been demanding plastic free tea bags all round! There are (and have been for quite some time) plastic free tea bag brands available. One I have known about for quite some time is Tea Pigs, who have even gone so far as to use plant ink for the printing on their boxes and a plant based, plastic like material for the packaging. You can't get much better than that! Many of the big companies such as PG Tips have been developing their own plastic free bags, as well as biodegradable ones, however under EU law biodegradable products can still have small amounts of plastic in them, so be careful!
One thing that I think is crazy, is that you really have to look carefully at plastic free products to even find where it says 'Plastic free'. I think companies who are plastic free need to shout it out as loud as possible! Big bold green letters please! Also, most plastic free brands are currently quite pricey, but hopefully as more brands ditch the plastic, plastic free bags will become more affordable.
 |
| You have to look quite hard to find the plastic free labels |
https://pebblemag.com/magazine/eating-drinking/5-minute-guide-to-plastic-free-tea
One final way to completely get rid of any waste involving the amazing practice of drinking tea. Is to go back to basics. Start using loose tea. You can buy small tea dunkers for one, or just use a pot and a strainer if you have more people. You can then dispose of the tea on your garden (which is great for the soil), or on a compost heap.
Thank you SO MUCH if you managed to get to the end of this blog post, and I hope you consider making this switch.
 |
| Loose tea in my cupboard :) |
An article on how clothing is putting micro-plastics into the environment:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibers-plastic-pollution-oceans-patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads
A paper done in 2012 on micro-beads:
https://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/pollution/positionpaper-microplastics-august2012.pdf
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