Queensland’s Nerada Tea company is marking Plastics Free July with the launch of a cardboard tea package that features no plastic lining or wrapping.
The box, made from recycled cardboard, comes with a pour spout that folds out to dispense the loose-leaf tea into a brewing pot. It will sell for RRP$3.30 in supermarkets.
Nerada Tea, which sells 1.5 million kilograms of tea a year, is also currently trialing a 100-per-cent plastic-free paper for its tagless pot bags which it hopes to roll out in stores by the end of this year.
In what the company describes as “a high priority,” further research is ongoing into a plastic-free solution for tea bags which the company hopes to bring to market within a year.
Launched in 2010, Plastic Free July has reportedly inspired more than 326 million participants around the world to reduce their household waste and recycling by 21kg per person, per year – equivalent to almost 5 percent – contributing to a total saving of 940 million kilograms of plastic waste annually.