Did you know what material tea bags are made of?

The materials used for the bags

We are often asked what materials tea bags are made of and why.

In a double-chamber bag-making machine, all materials are fed in on rolls. The tea filter paper is folded inside the machine, so no heat sealing is required. Consequently, this type of bag contains no plastic and is fully compostable.

For pyramid bags, due to the nature of the machine, a roll that is already equipped with thread and a label is purchased. The pyramid bag is heat-sealed with a laser, which is why a material that bonds when heated is required. This is either nylon or PLA made from cornstarch.Morga uses nylon bags—these are not made of paper and therefore cannot be disposed of in home compost. However, we do not consider cornstarch to be a viable alternative. As with many environmental issues, opinions may differ—it’s always important to consider various aspects. In this case, we find it more sensible to use nylon, which ends up in the trash and is properly incinerated in Switzerland—versus cornstarch, which would be compostable but not in a standard compost bin. Producing packaging materials from cornstarch requires a great deal of energy and land. Its cultivation uses land that is thus taken away from food production, often leading to monocultures—mostly in developing countries that already have little to eat.

Flat filters also require welding. This process involves using paper coated with a layer of plastic. As a result, these bags cannot be composted.

See also: Agricultural Plastics (bio-suisse.ch)