In a concerning discovery for tea lovers everywhere, scientists have found that a simple cup of tea might come with an unwanted extra ingredient: billions of microscopic plastic particles. A new study reveals that common tea bags can release substantial amounts of micro and nanoplastics (MNPLs) into your brew during the steeping process.

Researchers discovered that these bags release immense numbers of particles when immersed in hot water. Polypropylene teabags were identified as the largest emitter among the materials tested, releasing approximately 1.

Regular ScienceAlert readers will likely know how pervasive microplastics are – getting into human tissue, ancient rock, and bottled water – but it may come as a shock to discover just how many of these tiny fragments can lurk inside a single tea bag.

In their study, published in Chemosphere, the team tested three common types of tea bags available online or in local supermarkets. These included nylon bags from Amazon, polyprop

Let us face it. We know plastics have made our lives easier due to its virtues of versatility, durability, cost-effectiveness, lightweight nature, hygiene, and safety, among others. The packet of biscuits,