Yorkshire Tea is set to ditch its plastic wrapping around boxes of tea bags.
The first boxes of tea bags minus the plastic wrap have hit the shelves as the Harrogate-based business aims to reduce its plastic usage.
The first phase of plastic-less products will be Yorkshire Gold 80s, Yorkshire Tea Decaf 80s, Yorkshire Tea for Hard Water 80s and price-marked packs of Yorkshire Tea 80s.
Yorkshire Tea was founded in 1886 and is owned by Taylors of Harrogate.
A spokesperson said:
“We’ve been working on it for a while, as it’s a bit trickier than we first thought.
“That thin piece of material does lots of important stuff, like keeping the box secure, slowing down, and reducing moisture ingress which can make the tea taste funny.
“So, we’ve been testing and researching (with the help of some of the companies we work with) to make sure we get it right.
“The last thing we’d want to do is affect the taste of your brew, give it a shorter shelf life or make boxes that aren’t fit for purpose. But we reckon we’ve cracked it.”
The new boxes have an added inner lid, fewer gaps, and still have a bit that works as a tamper seal.
Yorkshire Tea has also got rid of the plastic bundle wrap that the boxes travel to the shops in.
The spokesperson added:
“We’re aiming to eliminate single-use virgin oil-based plastics where they’re not necessary by the end of 2025, with all remaining plastic to be reusable or recyclable, and to keep reducing the impact we have on the planet.”
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