In article ,
"michael adams" writes:
|
| Indeed. But the point I was making was they were specifically
| designed so as to survive almost indefinitely in the warm moist
| environment of the "average" compost heap. Which nevertheless,
| eventually produces satisfactory results, from most other types
| of albeit soft material. Which if the heap was dry and cool, it
| wouldn't. They were designed so as not to compost under "average"
| conditions, where the heap isn't regularly turned, and never achieves
| sufficient mass so as to achieve optimum temperatures at the centre.
| Unlike say, your own.
|
| You have a most bizarre idea of how to make tea!
|
| They are designed not to break down in a few hours of being fully
| saturated at temperatures from 100 Celcius down to 0.
|
| No more likely, the probabilty is that they're unlikely to break
| down within say six months immersion in liquid. I very much
| doubt if it's economic or even desirable to manufacture
| tea bags which can be guarenteed to break down within a certain
| period.

Read what you said again. You claimed that they were DESIGNED not
to break down in the environment of a compost heap. I pointed out
that was false. You are correct that they are unlikely to break
down in 6 months if kept saturated.

| Nevertheless if the cellulose\lignin fibres in teabag paper are so treated
| so as to be able to resist normal disintegration and\or tainting of the tea,
| I can see no reason why such treatment shouldn't render them relatively
| impervious to both bacterial and fungal in addition.

Elm, oak and other woods will last for a millennium if saturated,
as Ely cathedral shows. They will break down in a year or two
if merely damp (and oxygenated).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.