​We all know that it's a good idea to drink less single-use plastic, but what about tea bags? While it may seem like an insignificant source of plastic, a recent study found that each tea bag contains microplastics.

If you're interested in reducing your plastic waste, it's important to know the differences between biodegradable, compostable, recyclable and non-recyclable materials. Below, we've rounded up a few brands that use sustainable options for their Compostable Packaging.

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Biodegradable

Despite the fact that we're drinking millions of cups of tea per day, a significant amount of polypropylene plastic is used to seal some of our favourite brands' tea bags. This is not only harmful to the environment but it also causes a small amount of microplastics to leach into our drinks.

To combat this, some brands have switched to sealing their tea bags with renewable plant-based materials instead of using polypropylene. These materials are known as PLA, and are both biodegradable and compostable.

Pukka Herbs' tea pla bags are free of all plastics and are held together with string made from organic cotton. They're 100% compostable and break down in 12 weeks if put into your food waste collection.

The drawstring tea filters in our Garden-to-Cup subscription are the best thing to happen to tea since the invention of the kettle. These eco-friendly tea filters are made from oxo-biodegradable manila hemp and come in a paper box that's 100% recyclable.

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Compostable

Whether you're looking to make an eco-conscious choice for your morning tea or want to get the most out of the plant-based ingredients in your favorite blends, knowing if your tea bags can be composted is a must. But not all tea bag materials are created equal, and some can't be composted at all.

For example, tea bags made with a mixture of plastics cannot be put in the compost pile. This is because the plastics will not break down, they'll stay in place for years and enter the watershed or become part of your garden soil.

Thankfully, there are still many companies that produce tea bags made from biodegradable materials. Some even use a cotton string to keep the bags shut and therefore are completely compostable. Others use a mix of different materials to create the porous material needed for brewing.

Recyclable

When it comes to product packaging, things can get a little confusing. Paper bags, for example, can have plastic or foil liners that make them not recyclable in most areas.

However, this isn’t the case for David’s tea bags. Their sachets are made with a plant-based biodegradable mesh or hemp, and contain no plastics.

If you’re looking for a tea compostable bags, there are some great options out there. A few, including Higher Living Teas, use unbleached paper with organic cotton strings stitched in to form the teabags. These are then completely compostable, along with their packaging boxes.

Organic

David's Tea sells a range of tea bags that are fully Biodegradable Compost Bag. They use unbleached paper that is wrapped with organic cotton string that’s stitched into the paper to form the shape of the bag.

They’re also compostable along with the packaging boxes. This brand claims to be the first to use organic strings to their teabags together without the need for staples or polypropylene.

Another company, Pukka Herbs, creates their teabags from unbleached paper with organic cotton string stitched into the paper to form the bag and are completely biodegradable.

PG Tips pyramid tea bags are now made from a plant-based material that is 100% renewable and biodegradable, so you should place these in your food waste bin rather than in the home composter or landfill.

One study found that a single plastic tea bag can release about 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles into the cup, which is an extremely high number and could have serious health consequences.