Our Tea Bags

Do the tea bags Cederberg Tea Company use contain any plastics?

No, our tea bags contain no plastic.  All of our tea bags are made from PLA and are biodegradable.  PLA is a plant-based polymer, sometimes referred to as a bioplastic.  In simple terms, PLA is to plastic as "Beyond Meat" is to beef.  Both "behave" similarly to the product they were developed to substitute.

More About PLA

PLA is a biodegradable polymer manufactured from corn, corn starch or other cellulose fibers.  When manufactured as tea bags, the papers will biodegrade completely leaving little or no residue.  Papers containing PLA can be processed as part of compostable waste and will break down in composts under correct conditions (temperature and time).

When PLA paper is composted, the natural cellulose fibres in the paper decay/decompose/biodegrade relatively rapidly under optimum conditions although it should be noted that the composting/decomposition/biodegradation rate of any material is very dependent on the conditions under which it is stored such as
temperature, humidity, bacteria and how often the compost is turned over (either naturally with worms or mechanically).