One of my pleasures (dare I say, rituals) in my everyday living is my tea. I’m looking at my tea tray, as I write and asking myself how much plastic is on it?

To begin with, the tray is plastic. We used to have a wooden tray – but it stained too easily in the everyday mishaps of tea drinking. The plastic one was easier to clean, and it has been with us for several years. It was given as a gift.

Next, the container holding my tea bags (Purists don’t kill me – I found a glorious service providing single estate tea, but the packaging was too much to stomach) is plastic.

Could I have non-plastic alternatives to these? Easily. It would neither affect the convenience nor the aesthetics of the ritual (it would improve it). Done. That’s one category of no-brainer plastic avoidance – lack of sensitization.

But what would I now with my tray and the little green-lidded plastic box. Should I toss them? Gift them? Or continue to use them?

Which is the most ‘eco-friendly’ option?

While a knee-jerk reaction would be to replace them with other options, right now, I’m tending towards retaining these plastic parts of my morning cuppa.