I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

thanks

Liz

FF wrote:
:: I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
:: Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
:: else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
:: probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
:: of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
:: mess.
:: Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
:: but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
:: Take the leaves out of the bag?

There's no need to take the tea from the bag, the bags themselves should
compost easily enough given that they are only a type of paper tissue
material.
The envelope windows will never compost though and they should be removed
prior to shredding...the only reason I can think of why the T-bags didn't
break up is moisture levels were too low, I have an 'open' heap and the
elements help to break everything down nicely.

--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 21:28:11 GMT, FF wrote:

I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

thanks

Liz

I've been putting teabags in compost for about 30 years. I usually
just rip the bags open before putting them in. The bags themselves do
tend to retain a skeletal structure but I don't mind that as I usually
dig the compost in. I shouldn't think envelope windows would ever rot
down though. I also put eggshells in - crush them first.

Jupiter wrote:
On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 21:28:11 GMT, FF
wrote:
[...]
bags and the remains of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes
have
made my garden look a mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too
far, but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them
in
longer? Take the leaves out of the bag?

thanks

Liz

I've been putting teabags in compost for about 30 years. I usually
just rip the bags open before putting them in. The bags themselves
do
tend to retain a skeletal structure but I don't mind that as I
usually
dig the compost in. I shouldn't think envelope windows would ever
rot
down though. I also put eggshells in - crush them first.

Right. The key here is that the windows in envelopes aren't
cellulose: I don't know exactly, but they're probably something in
the poly-ethylene family, not the sugar family. They won't do any
harm underground, and ultra-violet will break them up soon enough on
the surface.

--
Mike.

The message
from FF contains these words:

I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

We put all our used teabags (different brands) in the compost heap
never to be seen again. I don't know why yours don't decompose..does the
rest of the compost look okay?

I just read yesterday that old envelopes shouldn't be put with
wastepaper for recycling, because the glue and the plastic windows mess
up the works. Oops....

Janet

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from FF contains these words:

I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

My mum always rips open the used teabags and scatters the tea leaves direct
onto the garden. She reckons she was fed up with finding mouldy uncomposted
teabags in the compost heap. Granted she may have been running an over-dry
compost heap. The empty teabags don't seem to survive.

Andy.

"FF" wrote in message
...
I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years
now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

thanks

Liz

http://tinyurl.com/ctjjj

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

Janet Baraclough wrote:
[...]
I just read yesterday that old envelopes shouldn't be put with
wastepaper for recycling, because the glue and the plastic windows
mess up the works. Oops....

These fancy new polymers aren't what God intended us to make paper
out of; but they won't make a ha'p'oprth of difference in the garden.
Dig 'em in, I say!

--
Mike.

In article , Phil L wrote:
FF wrote:
:: I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
::...
:: probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
:: of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
:: mess.
:: Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
:: but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
:: Take the leaves out of the bag?

There's no need to take the tea from the bag, the bags themselves should
compost easily enough given that they are only a type of paper tissue
material.

I don't think all teabags are made from the same material.
About three years ago I purchased some Chinese oolong tea in teabags
and those teabags are still undecomposed in my compost/soil.
The others, e.g. the ones I have used since, are decomposed and gone.

Anita

The message
from Jupiter contains these words:
On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 21:28:11 GMT, FF wrote:

I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

thanks

Liz

I've been putting teabags in compost for about 30 years. I usually
just rip the bags open before putting them in. The bags themselves do
tend to retain a skeletal structure but I don't mind that as I usually
dig the compost in. I shouldn't think envelope windows would ever rot
down though. I also put eggshells in - crush them first.

One thing you won't find in my house is a teabag. Ugh!

But the bags should rot down with the rest of the compost.

Alternatively, dry them and save them, then later, wet them and sow
mustard and cress on them and have a succession of mini-salads.

Also useful for sowing grass seed on and when the grass is established,
planting in bare patches of the lawn - stops the birds eating the seed.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

michael adams wrote:

"FF" wrote in message
...

I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?
...

One point about the paper used in teabags is that it's designed
to withstand being immersed in boiling water, and then left to soak
in liquid more or leass indefinitely, without disintegrating.

But it still rots away in my compost heap. I think it may depend on how
hot the heap gets, but the inside of mine will eat most things at 70C.

As this is a deliberate design feature, its maybe not surprising
that there should be problems with physical breakdown in the warm
moist conditions of the average compost heap. Which probably means
that the compost worms and fungal micro-organism which aid further
decomposition will give them a miss as well.

I suspect if they stay too dry and cool the will last almost
indefinitely but in the right environment they vanish...
(as do quite big chunks of hedge trimmings)

Regards,
Martin Brown

there's an EU regulation which prohibits tea bags being composted by local
authorities because they're classed as animal products.

actually behind the expected EU silliness is the suggestion that if tea bags
have been in the cup with milk then any dairy disease might be transferred
to the compost. But if you take out the bag before adding the milk there
shouldn't be a problem



"FF" wrote in message
...
I've been putting teabags in the compost bin for a couple of years now.
Recently I had to empty a composter as it was in the way of something
else. It hadn't been added to for a good 12 months & I thought it was
probably ok. However .... the bag part of old tea bags and the remains
of cellulose windows in shredded envelopes have made my garden look a
mess.
Granted, adding shredded window envelopes was probably a step too far,
but can someone enlighten me about the tea bags. Leave them in longer?
Take the leaves out of the bag?

thanks

Liz

In article ,
Martin Brown wrote:
michael adams wrote:


One point about the paper used in teabags is that it's designed
to withstand being immersed in boiling water, and then left to soak
in liquid more or leass indefinitely, without disintegrating.

But it still rots away in my compost heap. I think it may depend on how
hot the heap gets, but the inside of mine will eat most things at 70C.

And mine - and I run a 'cool' heap. The missing item of information
is that lignin is broken down only by fungi, and cellulose only by
fairly specialised bacteria, and they both take longer than breaking
down sugars, starches etc. If a heap is either too wet or too dry,
those materials will last for a long time - and if there isn't a
fairly large supply of other cellulose, there won't be many of the
relevant bacteria.

I suspect if they stay too dry and cool the will last almost
indefinitely but in the right environment they vanish...
(as do quite big chunks of hedge trimmings)

No, cool and fairly dry is fine. I am pretty sure that the reason
you and I have no trouble is indicated by your last remark. If
you put things like hedge trimmings on, there will be plenty of
cellulose-digesting bacteria, and they will simply move on to the
teabags.

I am trying a new, enclosed, heap for actual woody material, as I
had a lot of it, and will see how that goes. But that is more for
the actual lignin, which is very durable.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
michael adams wrote:

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. That is
nothing like the conditions of any normal heap - as we know full
well, saturated heaps do not compost well. They are NOT designed
to be resistant to bacterial and fungal attack when damp.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In message ws.net,
Oxymel of Squill writes
there's an EU regulation which prohibits tea bags being composted by local
authorities because they're classed as animal products.

actually behind the expected EU silliness is the suggestion that if tea bags
have been in the cup with milk then any dairy disease might be transferred
to the compost. But if you take out the bag before adding the milk there
shouldn't be a problem

Can we watch while they test them all - one by one of course :-))
It could provide a lovely job description for someone
--
Sue
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