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Sustainable Recycling System Introduced in Darjeeling District

Recycling and Waste Management

Business Honor
04 April, 2025

Tieedi and Tetra Pak launch a collaborative project in Darjeeling to promote recycling and empower waste workers.

In a major move towards sustainable waste handling, residents of Darjeeling District as well as local businesses now have a systematic approach to recycling used beverage cartons with the help of a collaborative project between Tieedi Permaculture Foundation and Tetra Pak. This is a milestone in promoting responsible recycling practices and, in the process, granting informal waste workers formal recognition, training, and access to healthcare services.

Tieedi, a zero-waste green organization, partnered with Tetra Pak, the global leader in food processing and packaging, to establish a decentralized collection and recycling system for spent beverage cartons. The project ensures that waste drink cartons, which are composed of mostly 70% paperboard, are effectively recovered by waste workers and a network of communities. The cartons collected will be transported to Khatema Fibres in Uttarakhand for recycling into consumer goods, paper products, e-commerce boxes, roofing sheets, and even furniture.

One of the major highlights of the initiative is the regularization of the position of waste pickers in the waste management system. Waste workers are being trained in effective collection and segregation of aseptic beverage cartons, and shall also receive health cards to access medical assistance. The project aims to give such workers better earning opportunities in the form of a structured recycling channel.

Besides, students of Sonada Degree College are actively contributing to gathering information on waste pickers, closing the gap between research studies and actual waste management issues. Utsow Pradhan, Founder of Tieedi, emphasized the significance of recognizing waste pickers, often overlooked despite their crucial role in recycling.

Juhi Gupta, Director of Sustainability for Tetra Pak South Asia, commended the partnership, pointing out its ability to create a precedent for decentralized, community-based waste management solutions that would be both good for the environment and for local communities.