In Brussels we are legally obligated to put organic waste in orange bags for collection and composting. And we are obligated to put plastic in blue “PMB” bags for recycling.
I bought some tea bags which happen to be plastic mesh instead of paper. Yikes. That is not always disclosed on the pkg. Of course I won’t be arrested if I toss the spent tea bag in the white bag of non-recyclable waste. But I wanted to at least try to act responsibly, so I opened the tea bag and dumped the spent leaves in the orange bag.
I thought: wouldn’t it actually be useful to let the plastic mesh dry and re-use it for non-edible spices when cooking (e.g. bay leaves), or even loose tea again?
Attempt 1: using a heat sealer intended for solid plastic bags failed to reseal the plastic mesh. Apparently it does not get hot enough, despite using the “moist” setting to cook the plastic longer.
Attempt 2: wedge the open seam of the mesh between two metal rulers and use a lighter. It works, but fuck this. Not worth the effort. Also results in black burnt plastic that could chip off and get lost in the food.
Mmmmmmmmm, microplastics.
You’re already actively trying to avoid purchasing more plastic, reusing the existing plastic waste isn’t going to change that.
Nonsense. Reusing what you already have enables avoiding buying new. It’s the whole point of reuse.
Knowingly avoing the question. I’m sorry. In my region (Flanders), they are asked to be thrown in the non-recyclavle trash, which grings as much gears with me as with you. I also upvoted a peer comment calling out the microplastics which are liberated from the mesh each time it is heated. Far be it for me to tell other people how to prepare their tea, but I’d like to caution you for the (added) microplastics.
Glad you’re trying to make an effort to preserve our environment.
My husband bought sinilar tea bags. I open them up prior to use and place the content in a stainless steel tea egg. I’m sure he bought bags by accident as we usually drink loose tea.
I am not whole-hog microplastics phobic, but indeed it makes sense to open the bags before using them, and transfer the tea to a non-plastic infuser, if readily available. That did not occur to me; thanks for the tip! From there, I can only think of a reuse like containing small items for ultrasonic cleaning – in avoiding ingestion of microplastics.
If only there was a way to make a reusable mesh so you could infuse loose leaves instead of plastic trash 🤔