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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2020
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Watch the BBC first on iPlayer 👉 bbc.in/iPlayer-Home The University of East Anglia has conducted tests on six of Britain's biggest tea brands in order to find out the amount of plastic included in their bags.
Each one of the teabags was placed in a copper ammonia solution for five days, which dissolved any material apart from plastic.
While the tests showed some bags degraded and broke down easily, others included significant amounts of non-biodegradable plastic.
Find out more: watch 'War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita' on BBC iPlayer.
War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita | BBC
#BBC #BBCWar on Plastic #BBCiPlayer
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Great journalism! Please do the test again in 2021 and call out any who are still using plastic.
This is the kind of impartial tea shaming that I don't mind from the BBC. Exposing bad practices which harm the environment isn't doctor who so carry on.
Would love to see this on house brands as well (Marks & Sparks, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, etc)
They’re made in the same factories
"The UK drinks over 100 million mugs of tea everyday."
Yep.. That sounds about right.
@@natalie19f.u..e0nyic3 How many Bots are going to reply to mein comment?!
Sometimes it feels like we drink that much at our house every morning.
You can't get work done without builder's tea.
I’ve had 4 today and who knows how many throughout the week.
Each.
End of 2020 means a little over 3 months. Let’s hope there a follow up in January.
They didn't switch yet :( disappointing
Got to love all the companies immediately going 'ah feck we've been called out, time to switch'
Same test was done in Canada and found that red rose was plastic free and that is what I've been drinking since. This is quite interesting experiment.
Red rose uses polylactic acid or pla a plant based thermoplastic polymer. sorry.
Nice to see that those tea companies replied saying they would switch to biodegradable tea bags :')
I am VERY happy about that part. I'm glad they were amenable to the issue and to changing the harmful parts of their product. Twinings has been my favorite for ever. Good for them (both the testers and the companies!)
@@frankiebluej6902 I'm glad too. Twinings Chai is my all time favorite.
@Be Your Self It might be because they were already working on it
@@SimonWoodburyForget Change is better than no change. Then we, the consumers, decide if new price is worth it or not.
@@SimonWoodburyForget That was my point. Change is a good thing and a small change is better than no change at all. However, we can change the environment for the better or change it for the worse. I prefer change for the better.
loose tea with a safe tea infuser/strainer is the way to go!
I sometimes forgo the strainer and just let the leaves clump at the bottom, less washing up haha
I always use loose leaf tea as well. I have a great tea making pot from Breville, which heats the water to the desired temperature of 100 degrees for black tea (80 degrees for green tea) and then lowers the basket of tea into the water for 3 minutes. Perfect cuppa every time and no hassle.
@@Farimira For some tea this is the preferred method like dragon pearl tea
It's time to do follow up testing to see if Yorkshire & Twinning took out the plastic.
Lately I’ve been ordering loose leaf tea, good thing, I love Twinings it’s a shame they use plastic.
I do the same thing here in Brazil.
Decent loose leaf is wonderful, but I don't have time to warm the pot and let it brew properly in the morning!
I always use loose leaf tea as well. I have a great tea making pot from Breville, which heats the water to the desired temperature of 100 degrees for black tea (80 degrees for green tea) and then lowers the basket of tea into the water for 3 minutes. Perfect cuppa every time and no hassle.
I would hope that a significant drop in sales for these three will force them to follow through. I know Brits are crazy for their tea, but drinking plastic multiple times a day every day can't be good...
You’re not drinking plastic, the plastic is only in the bag, not in the tea. Furthermore, this is the same plastic that is used for thousands of food & drinks containers and is considered food safe. This is an environmental issue, not a health issue.
@@wich1 OK, that makes sense now that I think about it. I thought that ingestion of trace amounts of any sort of plastic would not be deemed preferable, but I am sure the amounts are too minuscule to matter. Taking hundreds of years to disintegrate is another matter entirely... Thanks for straightening me out without coming right out and calling me an idiot...
What a wholesome exchange. I agree as well, it's definitely an environmental issue. Lucky for me PG tips isn't plasticky, seeing as I do drink about 10 double-bagged mugs a day.
When heated (such as pouring boiling water over it) , plastic releases trace amounts of the toxic chemicals it’s made of. It’s totally unnecessary and not good for you or the planet.
Owen Parker You were not wrong! Drinking tea that’s had heated plastic soaking in it multiple times a day for years and years is not good for you.
I'm sad about Twinings. That's been my brand of choice for near a decade and to find out they use plastic is so unfortunate
Mine too and I live in the USA so they probably aren’t going to change to the biodegradable ones
oh no 😱, Twinning is my fave brand. thank you for this report BBC 🍵 💝
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Crap. I love Yorkshire tea, but no more until they fix this problem. This was very informative. I don’t want micro plastics in my body.
Same here. I live in Germany and always try to buy Yorkshire Tea whenever I can find it. Not anymore. What a shame. I used to love it...
I did not know this, very good information. I was wondering for sometime on how to get this tested as well as other products. I used to buy twinnings for my daughter.
I felt quite sorry for Anita Rani when she learnt that her favourite brand Yorkshire Tea actually contained plastic! :(
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I found an internet article saying that teabags were made from a specially bred plant fibre that looks like paper. Obviously not ALL teabags. That same article said that the glue on the seams was partly plastic.
That gave me chills! Not only horrible for the environment, but I'm ingesting that!
Thanks for the info.
Never buying any of these except Clipper even if others fix their tea bags.
Assalamualaikum
@@lighttheoryllc4337 Walekum Asslam.
Good investigative reporting with excellent results. Way to go, and thanks for sharing this and handling this for the health of so many!
Quite an eye-opener. I'm really pleased that PUKKA passed the test. I've consumed oceans of their tea over many years!
I did the same, but with Twinnings... Guess I'll switch to drinking tea leaves again
This was such an eye opener i’m so happy i’ve seen this. I LOVE yorkshire tea but i’ll only look for the plastic free brands now.
Drink tea like Asians do. They use direct tea leaves or fermented tea bring it to boil. It neither requires tea bag. Great taste and good for environment.
@therealDale well if a minute is more important then the wellness of environment then you are right. 🤔
I will start drinking more loose tea again, thanks for the reminder ❤
Relove Creates they just need to stop using plastic, also who wants tea leaves in their tea?
I always drink loose tea. It taste a lot better than tea bag. Ahem, plastic tea bag. 🤢
I can definitely tell you that in Korea and here in Japan everyone uses tea bags, often nylon, usually double or triple wrapped, and no one thinks all that much about overusing plastic.
I grew up in the England drinking loose leaf tea, and switched to using teabags when I left England because not doing so became too awkward, especially around other people.
I drink both Twinings and Tetley and now I'm sad :(
I guess I'll go back to drinking natural tea leaves again
Though, Twinings and others said they would be plastic free by end of 2020.
@@frankiebluej6902 well lets hope they stay true to their word
@@e-pearlm That is ALWAYS a given. Unfortunately.
Twinings, okay... but Tetley is just bloody awful!
@@stephenbranley91 Fully agree there. A box sat in our cupboard for years because I refused to drink it. water was better. ick. However, we all do have differing taste buds.
Yes! please do the test again in 2021. I found out about the plastic scaffolding in my wormery in 2019 when I "harvested" the soil my worms made from my kitchen scraps. So I wrote an email to Tetley and asked about it and they wrote back telling me that it was plastic and they were working on changing their teabag make up. Sooooo happy to hear they are going back to just paper.
The fact Clipper is plastic-free is why I switched to them ages ago. Plus they make a decent cuppa. Never understood the hype with Yorkshire, and Tetley just tastes like the sweepings off the floor.
Good reporting, however, I'd be much more interested to know how much mould the tea leaves in those teabags consist of, or maybe even heavy metals.
Disgraceful that they need to be pushed to stop this, just shows you what companies will do if left unchecked! How much other crap goes on without the public knowing, I shudder to think!
Very informative 👍
Well done, good job !!
The WORSE thing here (which is NOT explained) is that some of these plastics can break down into millions of very tiny parts when you make a tea cup to drink and you can ingest this and this may have an impact on human health! This public information bit has served us all well! (I am in Canada and am a tea lover too!)
Informative Video!👌👍
Charge these companies 5p each bag...lol
End of January 2021 - will you do a follow-up test with Yorkshire, Tetley's and Twinings (and maybe some other big brands, too)?
I'll stick with PG tips like always that doesnt let you down
They should also test the supermarket own brand tea bags, not just the brand names.
Great reporting. Please do an update!
Thank you for this important and intresting information, GBU.
I think they put a dye in them as well which makes the tea instantly strong because way back before tea bags when you made a cuppa you had to wait while the tea brewed, but now as soon as the boiling water hits that tea bag it's instantly brewed.
That's not dye, it's because they now chop the leaves so small because people are impatient and want tea to brew instantly. Open a teabag and the contents now look like sweeping from the factory floor.
This is why I changed to loose leaf and just bought a nice little tea infuser. Works like a charm!
Happily changing brands now...until the other manufacturers update their packaging.
I wish these videos had subtitles in English in order to learn English through these delightful videos
@T Doran i'll have to do it you are right even if I'd like to live in the uk
I love Yorkshire tea and am horrified. Unfortunately I have a couple of large boxes in stock. I shall try and get loose tea next time I shop.
Would love to see a follow up!
That is a great result, nice work
Please do a follow up lab test. Maybe also other newer brands. Thx
How about Fortnum & Mason?
Never bought them... and definitely avoiding those with plastic in it.
I generally use loose leaf tea and, if I have to use bags, PG Tips are my go-to brand so I was feeling quite smug. But my emergency back-up bags have always been Twinings. That's going to need a rethink!
Caught red handed! But does it not make you wonder what else they are hiding and what the long term damage, if any, of drinking liquids since birth through a plastic sieve! This video actually blew my mind and made me very, very angry. For years they knew the bags contained plastic but if they were not outed, I bet they would have kept quiet. Prime example, we don’t really know what we are putting into our bodies. It’s no wonder cancer is on the increase!
they are still using Plastic in their Packs containing over 240 bags
Its 2023, any updates?
I guess I have to switch back to loose leaf tea...which by the way tastes great but is a bit messy and non practical compared to tea bags
Crazy, glad my family drinks PG tips!
When will get an update on this matter - have they all yet switched to biodegradable materials yet - but anyways, thank you for this educational video
thanks for highlighting an industry secret
i've been in contact with them as i've been putting them in my Compost for years but got fobbed off.
I am shocked as I ve been putting my tea bags in food compost bin all these years. I guess loose leaf tea is the option going forward.
So I've been drinking millions of polypropylene particles? We need to sue those tea companies
is there any update on this one? :)
I love tetley and buy them because I thought they used less material and no plastic what a shame glad they will do so by end of the year though. Best thing to do is use loose leaf tea and jars
Hence the reason why I have bought a micromessh strainer and only use loose leaf tea!
Can anyone advise the solution used, and what temperature and proportions, I am trying to recreate the test at home. Please?
I'm glad my number one brand for over 35 years (PG Tips) passed the test, but now I'm curious about my backup choice (Typhoo).
I switched from Yorkshire and Twinings to Clipper Tea after seeing this and can report that it is fabulous tea! No regrets and I won't be switching back.
Unbelievable
5h1t - i just bought 2*1040 Yorkshire tea bags. Hopefully the last with plastic.
We need an update! No music please
Does anyone know the name of the artist/song that is playing in the background? Got no result when I shazamed it.
Wow.. I had no idea some of them contained plastic 😮😮
idea?
Noooo! Well I’m changing my teat right now.
THANK YOU
@Teena ! y.o I WANT SЕЕХ !!!! OPEN MY VIDEO !!!! hallo
@Sunidhichauhan apna namber da
0:06 tea
What about supermarket 'Everyday' own brand tea bags ?
Happy me... Almost always use pg
I usually buy Marks and Spencer's tea bags. Wonder if there's any plastic in those?
Yes, there is as cheaper quality bags are used!
Can we get a follow up video please? @BBC
Gutted! I love Yorkshire Tea as well 😞 However will not buy again unless they uphold their commitment of stopping. Makes me wonder how long plastic has been used in tea bags. I bet when I was a kid they didn’t. All these sneaky behaviours are so worth outing so thank you so much BBC for this report. More please!!
1:50 Basically everyone watching this lol
This is headline news BBC!
The solution for the consumer is SO easy! Just get a little infuser thing and use loose leaf tea. It’s less expensive, you get to measure the amount of tea you use yourself and the used tea leaves decompose quickly. It’s all good.
It’s 2022 I wonder if there was follow up
Being compostable would be better than biodegradable.
Wow unexpected results!
Germany, please do this too
Well, you will have to wait for that at least 10 years. More like 20.
Are there plans to test the bags used for all the green teas and herbal teas, there are so many now. Even if the beeb don't take part, the YT channel would broadcast the results.
Wow! Never would Havre guessed there was plastic. I also would not want plastic in my mug with hot water; doesn't plastic leach or break down a bit when heated?
Is there an easy way for a person without a lab to test their bags at home?
Yes put it in a compost bin cover with grass cutting. Leave a few weeks. Then see what's happening to you tea bag. After a year, mine were still intact which is how I new their was something dodgy going on. Took ages to rip the bags open so I don't put them in anymore.
@@beverleylevy843 Thanks!
Im drinking tea while watching this
It was only a couple of weeks ago that I noticed a box of teabags had 'Biodegradable' splashed across it, like it was a USP. Aren't they all? I thought to myself. Way to hype a conventional model!
Unlike coffee, my palate is not very discriminatory when it comes to tea, so I normally go budget end. Looks like I'm heading for a change.
I dread to think how much teabag plastic is floating around out there, and I contributed to it.
No more.
any updates??
Do a pesticide test as well please.
Did they test Typhoo?
Goes back to 80s ,loose tea the old teapot and strainer
Interesting stuff 🤔
Wow, the video wont load, but I looked through the comments and saw someone mourning Yorkshire tea - please, someone - tell me its not true.
Okay so: the video loaded, I watched it and was shocked. Yorkshire has graced my mug everyday for the last five years, so naturally I felt the urge to confirm this for myself. Having just dissected a bag of the good stuff, I see no plastic film whatsoever - not inside nor out, and not inbetween. I want to find it, if it is there because its poisoning me. But I totally dont see it.
Is it possible that different production sites dont use plastic?
Is it possible that Taylor's has already fixed the problem?
Is it possible that the plastic is not a film, or is in a form I cant see or notice?
Im rather troubled by the idea that our fine tea is tainted, and that its producers are intentionally poisoning us while we make them their billions.
This is all sad news to me, because tea is a great joy in my life and I dont want to leave it behind
You won't see it. That's the whole point of the experiment. The outer is dissolved away first.
Beverley Levy To be clear Bev, I dissected a teabag myself at home, and saw no plastic - I didnt use any chemicals I just looked for plastic while I ripped up the bag. I was thinking along the lines of 'if its there, I'd find it' but didn't find anything but paper and leaves.
What about lipton tea bag? That's what I drink
Buy an tea infuser. No paper nor plastic bag required to brew your own tea.
No sound to this video?
Safest thing, surely, is to drink loose-leaved tea? Even if tea-bags don't have a plastic seal, the bag is bleached (save for British "Clipper" tea)
When you say plastic, you mean synthetic