Antibiotics and pharmaceutical products have become emergent contaminants in residual waters due to the inefficient commercialization and distribution. This study proposes the use of waste materials from tea leaves of chamomile (CM), green tea (GT) and peppermint (PM) and their chemical modifications: carboxylation, sulfonation and thiolation as adsorbents of Penicillin G. The tea samples were treated with sustainable chemical reactions in aqueous media and minimal reagent consumption. The adsorbents and their chemical modifications were characterized by instrumental techniques. All the adsorbents reported constant thermal stability and only small morphological changes on their surfaces. The adsorption tests demonstrated a strong influence of the acidity on the elimination of the antibiotic, mostly at the level of the chemistry of the added functional groups, mainly through dipole-dipole...