To overcome any recycling confusion, the leading retailer will also be clearly labelling information on the correct way to compost tea bags in a food waste caddy across its newly designed packets of tea.
The new labelling will state: “We now make our tea bags out of plant-based material. Once used put your tea bag into your food waste bin. Our tea bags biodegrade into compost.”
This comes as a YouGov survey commissioned by Tesco found that shoppers are split on what to do with their used tea bags, with millions disposed of incorrectly.
With some tea bags being compostable and others not, shoppers were also confused on which bin to put them in.
The move to plant-based means that all tea bags sold by the Big 4 grocer will be compostable by the summer, equating to more than one billion bags a year.
“This is a huge move that will help clear up the confusion for millions of people on how to dispose of their tea bags once used,” Tesco packaging manager, Adele Kearns said.
“We hope that making all of our tea bags compostable with clear labelling helps our customers correctly do their bit for the environment.”
WRAP resource management sector specialist, Adam Herriott added: “It’s great to hear of further moves by Tesco, a founding member of The UK Plastics Pact, to make positive changes to their products and make it easier for consumers to tackle plastic waste.
“Now more citizens can enjoy their morning cup of tea safe in the knowledge that once the bag is in their food waste caddy it will breakdown with the other organic material. However, we must continue to go further, and ensure we bring in more changes that benefit shoppers and the environment”.
