Making tea with tea bags is convenient and fast, but how should you dispose of used tea bags after enjoying your cup? Are tea bags considered food waste, or should they be thrown away as regular trash?
Are tea bags food waste, or should they go in the regular trash?
In Taiwan, tea bags are classified as regular trash and cannot be disposed of as food waste.
Although tea leaves are organic, many tea bags use synthetic fibers for packaging materials. These materials do not break down easily, so they cannot be recycled as raw food waste for composting and must instead be handled as regular trash.
If you really want to recycle them, remember to separate the tea bag packaging from the tea leaves. Toss the tea bag, tags, and strings into the regular trash, then strain the tea leaves from inside the bag and hand them over to sanitation workers for “raw food waste” recycling.
As a special reminder, loose tea leaves (not from tea bags) are recyclable and need to be sorted as “raw food waste” to be made into compost.