So Lipton is now claiming on their tea boxes "no plastic film around the box" and "the teabags are plant-based, made from paper and cornstarch". Clearly trying to imply that the product is plastic-free, but not quite *saying* it.

So you might think, why is there cornstarch in the bags?

Well, from cornstarch you can make... PLA! A type of plastic. And indeed, the other side of the box talks about composting the bags, but specifically mentions "industrial compost" - because that's the only type of composting that can process PLA.

@joepie91 I am a bit confused though, temperature of boiling water should be enough to melt a PLA teabag down, releasing its content.

Follow

@shine The melting point is 150-160C for PLA, it would probably weaken at boiling temps but I don't think that's an issue as I think its only purpose is to keep the paper fibers together

· · Web · 1 · 0 · 0

@joepie91 oh right, sorry, I didn't mean melt, but certainly deform enough to fail. But yep, if it's combined with fiber, than it's likely "fine"

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Pixietown

Small server part of the pixie.town infrastructure. Registration is closed.