According to the endlessly diverting and absolutely essential tea counter on the UK Tea Council’s home page, Britain has consumed 79,982,215 cups so far today and it isn’t even noon yet. An estimated 98 percent were brewed from tea bags, which, with their paper wrapping, paper tabs and strings, produce tons more excess waste than would loose tea. (The strings can’t be recycled as dental floss, sadly). One important step towards a greener – if not entirely green – green, black or white tea is the biodegradable silken-mesh tea bag made from polylactic acid filaments, a derivative of corn flour.  The polylactic tea bag is vital to the eco-friendly image of trendy gourmet tea companies like teapigs. In fact, Louise Allen of teapigs doesn’t see them as mere tea bags. She calls them “tea temples”.

Neither tea bags nor tea temples address a messy problem that has confounded billions of tea drinkers since the invention of the tea bag in 1908: How does one dispose of the soggy spent teabag without dripping on the floor, the kitchen counter, the table or the cupped hand. This was one challenge that could not be outsourced to India or China. The daring and determination of Team GB were required to produce the Teabag Bin, an invention no more mysterious and no less critical than a small, low-tech, countertop disposal system for up to 30 used tea bags. In addition to solving a nagging problem amusingly dramatised in a demo video, this trademarked bin fulfills a more sentimental need. Before emptying the bin, perhaps conscientiously turning its contents into compost, tea drinkers can sort through the old bags as they would photos in an album, inhaling the blend of unusual (and likely rank) scents and recalling all the wonderful cuppas shared with family and dear friends over the course of the month.  In fact, rather than toss those tea bags it might be better to buy a new Teabag Bin every month. At just £4.99 for plastic models and £12.99-13.99 for stainless steel ones, that isn’t much to spend to recycle used tea bags as priceless memories.