Ban Plastic Tea Bags in California
Ban Plastic Tea Bags in California
The Issue
Brewing Trouble: Why Plastic Tea Bags Don’t Belong in California Cups
For many of us, tea is not just a beverage - it’s a comforting routine, a quiet statement of care, and a choice we make for our own health. For nearly a decade, I have personally found solace in a warm cup of tea. Peppermint tea to soothe an upset stomach. Earl grey to start the day and chamomile to bring it to a close. Yet, today, I find myself troubled by a startling fact lurking behind this seemingly healthy practice.
When steeped in boiling water, plastic tea bags can release around 11 billion microplastics in a single cup of tea, permeating our beloved drinks with these microscopic pollutants (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2019, 53, 21, 12300–12310). By contrast, other beverages and foods considered to be high in microplastics contain only thousands. It’s the single worst source of microplastics in our diet by a mile and most Americans have no idea.
Many of your favorite tea brands often come in plastic bags -- Teavana, Harney & Sons, Rishi, and more. If you’ve had more than 9 cups of tea brewed with a plastic tea bag in your life, then you’ve likely ingested more microplastics than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. I, on the other hand, have drank on average a cup of tea every day for the last 10 years. If every one of those teas were brewed with a plastic tea bag, I’d have ingested more microplastics than there are cells in my body (> 30 trillion microplastics)! I can’t stand idly by and watch those I care about unknowingly make the same mistakes I’ve made.
California, known for its progressive environmental policies, should lead the country and take action to prevent this harm. We must ensure that the tea that soothes us does not silently harm us and our loved ones.
I implore you, fellow concerned citizens and tea enthusiasts, to push for the banning of plastic tea bags in California. We should be drinking tea, not plastic. Simply switching to paper tea bags is an easy and affordable way to ensure we can keep sipping our tea without a side of billions of microplastics.
Sign this petition today to call for a ban on the use of plastic tea bags in California.
1,098
The Issue
Brewing Trouble: Why Plastic Tea Bags Don’t Belong in California Cups
For many of us, tea is not just a beverage - it’s a comforting routine, a quiet statement of care, and a choice we make for our own health. For nearly a decade, I have personally found solace in a warm cup of tea. Peppermint tea to soothe an upset stomach. Earl grey to start the day and chamomile to bring it to a close. Yet, today, I find myself troubled by a startling fact lurking behind this seemingly healthy practice.
When steeped in boiling water, plastic tea bags can release around 11 billion microplastics in a single cup of tea, permeating our beloved drinks with these microscopic pollutants (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2019, 53, 21, 12300–12310). By contrast, other beverages and foods considered to be high in microplastics contain only thousands. It’s the single worst source of microplastics in our diet by a mile and most Americans have no idea.
Many of your favorite tea brands often come in plastic bags -- Teavana, Harney & Sons, Rishi, and more. If you’ve had more than 9 cups of tea brewed with a plastic tea bag in your life, then you’ve likely ingested more microplastics than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. I, on the other hand, have drank on average a cup of tea every day for the last 10 years. If every one of those teas were brewed with a plastic tea bag, I’d have ingested more microplastics than there are cells in my body (> 30 trillion microplastics)! I can’t stand idly by and watch those I care about unknowingly make the same mistakes I’ve made.
California, known for its progressive environmental policies, should lead the country and take action to prevent this harm. We must ensure that the tea that soothes us does not silently harm us and our loved ones.
I implore you, fellow concerned citizens and tea enthusiasts, to push for the banning of plastic tea bags in California. We should be drinking tea, not plastic. Simply switching to paper tea bags is an easy and affordable way to ensure we can keep sipping our tea without a side of billions of microplastics.
Sign this petition today to call for a ban on the use of plastic tea bags in California.
1,098
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on April 12, 2025