Co-op’s tea goes green to cut plastic

The Co-op is developing a fully biodegradable teabag free from synthetic materials.

The supermarket chain’s own-brand 99 tea will be made without polypropylene — the material that allows teabags to hold their shape — saving nine tonnes of plastic each year. It is developing its new bag with Typhoo and Ahlstrom-Munksjo, a technology company that specialises in sustainable fibres. The bag will be tested next month and should be on the shelves later this year.

Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food, said: “Many tea drinkers are blissfully unaware that the teabag from their daily cuppa is sealed using plastic.

“Even though it’s a relatively small amount, when you consider the six billion cups of tea that are brewed up every year in the UK, we are looking at around 150 tonnes of polypropylene.