Tea Waste Management: A Case Study from West Bengal, India

Objectives: The purpose of the present study is to focus on the types of wastages that generated as a byproduct from tea processing industries. Quality and quantities of tea waste and their proper management or waste disposal method were determined in Terai and Duars region of West Bengal. There are very few companies or societies who buy a very little amount of tea waste that does not have any significant impact on the tea waste management as a whole. Lastly, there is a lack of comprehensive and uniform guidelines towards tea waste management in this area. Methods: Random cluster sampling technique in selecting 20 study sites, out of the 30 tea factories that are spread in four major tea producing districts namely foothills of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and a part of Cooch Behar were performed. Primary and secondary data are documented during data collection, using questionnaires, interviews, observation and necessary photographs were taken. Findings: Authors have attempted to bring out this work to develop some management strategy of tea waste. Our survey report indicated that effective management strategies would improvise socio-economic status of tea garden workers as well as owners by utilizing this waste in poultry and fish feed, garden manure and caffeine extraction. Applications/Improvement: Fibers from tea waste can now be converted into different industrially implemented products like low cost absorbent during removal of pollutants from waste water. New technologies are emerged through which factory tea waste might be utilized for the preparation of n-triacontanol, which is commercially valuable bio-nutrient and has important growth promoting activities of leaf primordia.