tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161119503275991812.post4736035667450264878..comments2024-03-23T07:09:11.247+00:00Comments on Sustainability and stuff according to Nick Palmer...: Teabags just won’t go awayNick Palmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05360924308743466075noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161119503275991812.post-85182281149667038482009-11-25T14:08:12.968+00:002009-11-25T14:08:12.968+00:00Thanks for your comment Sara.
You wrote "I’m...Thanks for your comment Sara.<br /><br />You wrote <i>"I’m sorry you felt your initial enquiry was met with PR spin; we always try to pass on the relevant facts and useful information to people who contact us".</i><br /><br />Whilst I realise your customer service agents have a hard job handling the often difficult comments from the general public, occasionally they will get approached about matters that require a more knowledgable response.<br /><br />I took your agent's initial response to mean that they assumed that the reason I was seeing tea bag "ghosts" was because I was failing to provide good composting conditions and their unspoken assumption was that my "ghosts" were actually partially degraded cellulose fibres because I was not composting for long enough or hot enough or I didn't have enough worms.<br /><br />If you refer to the reply from PG Tips you will see a worse answer, that I suppose was just down to an insufficiently knowledgeable agent (they appeared to believe the whole bag was compostable) - I don't see dark conspiracies or a policy to mislead in these answers, or at least I hope not. I hope the agents concerned do not suffer any consequences beyond being given a little extra knowledge so they can respond better in future.<br /><br />I am aware of the industrial rationale for how some modern teabags are -I did my research. Here is a link to a <a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+look+inside+teabag+paper:+teabag+paper+manufacturers+respond+to...-a014672577" rel="nofollow">detailed article on teabag paper</a> albeit from 1993.<br /><br />Perhaps a key part in your comment is the "high speed packing machines" bit. The development and costing of these machines took place at a time when sustainability considerations did not form part of the mainstream responsibility of companies. Now they do.<br /><br />You say there is an absence of a fully compostable teabag paper that can be used with these machines - perhaps the future requires a fundamental rethink of packaging machinery design?Nick Palmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05360924308743466075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161119503275991812.post-69265683914816107872009-11-25T09:09:21.976+00:002009-11-25T09:09:21.976+00:00Dear Mr Palmer,
As the Director of Sustainability...Dear Mr Palmer,<br /><br />As the Director of Sustainability at the Tata Tea group which manufactures and sells Tetley tea bags in the UK, I have been following your blog on tea bag tissue with interest. I’m sorry you felt your initial enquiry was met with PR spin; we always try to pass on the relevant facts and useful information to people who contact us.<br /><br />We share your ambition for zero packaging to landfill and are working to turn this vision into reality. However tea bag tissue is highly specified and no one has yet found the perfect solution i.e. fully compostable, with a tight seal (because a tea bag that splits is so annoying!) and paper that allows the tea to brew well and runs on high-speed packing machines. I will be passing your comments on to my packaging development colleagues - hopefully there is a solution waiting to be found!<br /><br />Thank you for raising this issue – we need to live more sustainably but this is very challenging – understanding the challenges helps find a way forward.<br /><br />Kind regards<br />SARA HOWE <br />Director of SustainabilityTetleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161119503275991812.post-29747571891117008562009-11-24T14:10:03.540+00:002009-11-24T14:10:03.540+00:00Yes - I was surprised about this 95% compostable b...Yes - I was surprised about this 95% compostable being "legally" OK. I don't think this is OK at all! It looks like a bit of a con but is probably pragmatically defined like that to enable local authorities to compost garden waste etc without worrying too much that their "customers" have taken all the plant labels and plastic string out of their green waste...<br /><br />Maybe I'll pass this legal definition onto Friends of the Earth or similar to see what they say,Nick Palmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05360924308743466075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161119503275991812.post-10910770509266300132009-11-24T06:06:19.771+00:002009-11-24T06:06:19.771+00:00The response from Yorkshire Tea is most interestin...The response from Yorkshire Tea is most interesting :) It's a shame that the plastic is so widespread, though, and that they can legally get away with calling their tea bags 'compostable' when they clearly aren't.Emmahttp://coopette.com/blognoreply@blogger.com