Stay away from tea lights: why you shouldn't buy the small candles
Created: 12/01/2022 13:04
By: Lena Zschirpe
Tea lights are considered practical and cheap.
But they are also harmful to the environment.
© Lena Zschirpe/RUHR24
Tea lights are considered safe and cheap.
However, this is at the expense of the environment.
There are alternatives for the small candles.
Germany – In the cold and dark season, candles bring warmth and comfort into the home.
Tea lights are particularly practical and are considered safe thanks to their aluminum packaging.
However, they are harmful to the environment, as RUHR24 reports.
product | tealight |
materials | paraffin / stearin / aluminum |
problem | environmentally harmful |
Tea lights at Christmas time: They really are that bad for the environment
On average, every German burns 2.4 kilograms of candles a year.
Most of these are made from paraffin and stearin.
Both materials are already bad for the environment: paraffin is a by-product of oil production, while stearin is often made from palm oil.
The rainforest is cleared on a large scale for extraction.
Tea lights have an even bigger environmental problem than the ingredients in the candles.
They are in an aluminum case.
This usually ends up in the garbage after burning.
Harmful to the environment: The rainforest is also cleared for tea lights
The problem with aluminum: The production leads to a major environmental impact.
The starting material bauxite is an ore that is mined in open pits in countries such as Brazil, Australia, India and Jamaica.
The rainforest is also cleared for the dismantling, as reported by
Öko-Test
.
A sodium hydroxide solution separates the aluminum from the bauxite.
The so-called red mud that results from this stands on toxic chemicals that destroy the environment.
The production of aluminum, and thus also of tea lights, is also very energy-intensive.
Video: Why are tea lights so cheap?
Environmentally harmful tea lights: You should pay attention to this when buying
However, more and more tea lights without an aluminum cover are being offered.
A sustainable and environmentally friendly replacement for the aluminum jacket are cases made of glass, stainless steel or compostable materials.
BUND recommends looking for the RAL quality mark when buying candles.
RAL candles are low in soot and smoke and are made from quality-assured raw materials.
They are also free from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), heavy metals and sulphur.
But you should also be careful in the seal jungle: seals are often misleading, especially with natural cosmetics.
Another good alternative are candles made from organic beeswax.
These are also available from beekeepers in the region, for example.
There are now also eco-tea lights made from biomass.
Waste fats from renewable raw materials are used for this.
No fossil materials are used.
Old tea lights should be used up and recycled properly
If you still have tea lights with a classic aluminum cover at home, you shouldn't just throw them away.
That wouldn't be sustainable either.
However, you should dispose of them properly after breaking them off - in the yellow bag.
In this way, the material can be put back into the recycling loop.
By the way: LED tea lights are not a sustainable alternative.
Batteries and button cells contain valuable raw materials.
Thus, they are not an environmentally friendly substitute.
Don't throw away leftover candles.
These are very easy to recycle.
© Lena Zschirpe/RUHR24
Make tea lights yourself: Here's how
If you like, you can also use the aluminum molds to make new tea lights.
For this you need old candle remains and a wick cord.
Of course, other containers such as old jam jars or yoghurt pots are also suitable.
If you have leftover organic beeswax, you can even use it to make oilcloths.
The life hack is as simple as that: the leftover candles should melt in the water band.
The liquid wax is then poured through a sieve into the aluminum mold.
Then the wick cord is dipped.
Now the homemade candles only have to dry for a few hours.
However, the wick should be fixed with a clothespin so that it does not slide into the wax.
The best way to do this is to place the clip lengthwise on the respective vessel and grip the wick.
For homemade scented candles you can also drip a few drops of essential oil into the still liquid wax.
