Jokes aside the morning Metro today had a one page special on tea in tea bags focusing on the latest innovation in the field: replacing the traditional paper filter bag with a nylon variety. According to a sales spokeperson quoted in the article the nylon has several advantages over the paper. It doesn't break the leaves which means that there is less "dust" and leaf debris in the bag (which means that a better taste is produced with less tannin I believe); the nylon material allows for better circulation of the hot water which means more taste can be released; since ultrasound is used to seal the bags less energy is used in production.
Sounds amazing! There is of course the slight downside that the nylon might not be biodegradable. And oh the small potential health risk hinted at by the fact that there aren't any long term studies made on use of nylon in this way.
The Metro article even specifically says and the sales person fromAsda seems to verify that the brand sold by Asda is not biodegradable. Now how a company in this day and age can have the gall (be allowed atall but that's a different discussion entirely how about more lawsabout producer responsibility anyone?) to put a new product on themarket and have no plans on how to deal with the waste other than andI quote. "We hope to source other methods to improve the nylon bags'simpact on the environment," is a mystery to me. No more tea from Asdathen.
Interesting choice of words by the way. "Improve" the impact on theenvironment? I think I would have used the word "reduce" instead butthat's just me...
That said there are biodegradable nylon varieties available,and nylon has been used in other kitchen utensils such as foodcontainers and frying spatulas for years and years and I haven't seenany panic reports about people dying from nylon shock anywhere. Justmake sure you check up on it before you buy a particular brand Iguess... When non-biodegradable ends up in landfill (or your owncompost) it takes forever (a term I here use loosely in the meaning of"longer than we have been counting years since the death of Christ") tobreak down and as it does it releases poisonous substances.
I have doubts about the "biodegradable nylon". Does it really biodegrade or are they like the grocery bags that merely broke up into tiny fragments of non biodegradable material. Essentially chopping up nylon into infinitesimal pieces just makes them invisible not biodegradable.
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Related article:
http://manne.typepad.com/tummyrumble/2007/11/plastic-fantast.html
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