# What are tea bags made out of?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-tea-bags-made-out-of/59483>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 26, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-tea-bags-made-out-of/59483 "2001-03-26T03:07:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ATTGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@ATTGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ATTGuy)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-tea-bags-made-out-of/59483/1 "2001-03-26T03:07:13Z")

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My roommate thinks I’m weird because I put tea bags in the garbage disposal after I’m done with them. He seems to think that the material that the bag is made out of isn’t biodegradable. I always thought it was just cotton or some other natural fiber.

So does anyone know what the bag is made out of, or why I shouldn’t throw them in the disposal?

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-tea-bags-made-out-of/59483/2 "2001-03-26T03:41:55Z")

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At least some newer teabags are made of polypropylene or polyethylene cloth. [http://mitsuichemicals.com/spep/fybrel/](http://mitsuichemicals.com/spep/fybrel/)