Recent research has found that 50% of Australians drink at least one cup of tea per week, while those aged over 65 drink around 11 cups of tea per week.
Now, if everyone is tossing their once-used tea bags and leaves in the bin after every cuppa, then that’s a whole lot of household waste being produced by the humble cup of tea. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a list of ways you can reuse old teabags and tea leaves. However, be sure to determine if your teabags are compostable or not before going ahead with these ideas. If the bags aren’t compostable, you’ll have to remove the leaves from the bags before trying these suggestions out.
1. Compost your tea bags
If your teabags are compostable, pop them straight onto the compost pile. If not, empty the leaves from the bags and spread those on your compost instead. Tea adds the nitrogen-rich component to the compost that will balance carbon-rich materials.
2. Bury your used teabags or leaves at the base of your plants
The use of tea for plant growth will nourish the root system, aid in moisture retention and can suppress weed growth.
3. Soak your feet with tea
Infused hot water with old teabags and soak your feet in the liquid. It can reduce foot odour, soften touch skin and reduce aches or pains.
4. Fix puffy eyes
Rinse and refrigerate used teabags and pop them on your eyes to reduce puffiness. Green or chamomile tea is particularly great for reducing inflammation.
5. Get rid of bad smells
Dry out your teabags or tea leaves and pop them in an open container, then sit the container where the odour is worst. This can work in stinky freezers or stinky shoes (just leaves the teabags in the shoes overnight), or even in your cat’s litterbox.
6. Tenderize meat
Steep old black teabags until a strong tea is created, then pour over meat just before cooking to tenderize. The tannins in the tea will soften it.
You might also like:
6 reasons why you should be brewing loose leaf tea
Is cacao husk tea the new superfood?
Want to know how to turn old tea into a scrub? Watch the video below.
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