Tannery waste can be turned into economic resource: Industries ministry addl secy

Tannery solid waste should not be viewed merely as an environmental problem but as an economic resource that can create new products, businesses and investment opportunities, Ministry of Industries Additional Secretary Smriti Karmakar said today (5 October).

"We should not see tannery waste only as a problem or as a waste management issue. We can look at how, through technology, investment and entrepreneurship, it can be used as a raw material for new products and businesses," she made the remarks as a chief guest at a policy dialogue titled "Tannery Solid Waste (TSW) Management: Waste to Industrial Resource" at The Westin Dhaka.

Smriti said the discussions could be incorporated into an action plan for the Ministry of Industries, particularly on tannery solid waste management. "Whenever we talk about waste, we always see environmental pollution and river pollution. But we can actually utilise it."

"Bangladesh has entrepreneurs, small businesses, skilled workers and an established leather industry ecosystem that could be leveraged to turn tannery waste into commercially viable resources," she added.

The additional secretary further said, "The presentation today is not only important from the perspective of waste management; it is also very necessary for building a sustainable, environmentally friendly and internationally competitive leather industry."

Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and The Asia Foundation jointly organised the event, which was chaired by BUILD Chairperson A K Khan.

Md Nuruzzaman, additional secretary (admin) of the Ministry of Industries, and Benzir Ahmed, chairman of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), attended as special guests, while Alamgir Hossain, country representative of UNIDO, was the guest of honour.

BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum delivered the keynote presentation, while Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, country representative of The Asia Foundation, Bangladesh, also addressed the event.

A panel discussion moderated by Sharifa Khan, former alternate executive director of the World Bank and senior secretary of the External Resources Division (ERD), followed the presentation.

Panelists included Farzana Khan, DMD of SME Foundation; Dr Mohammed Abu Eusuf, professor at the Department of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka and executive director of RAPID; Md Golam Shahnewaz, managing director of DTIEWTPCL; Ishrat Shabnam, country director of Practical Action; Shaheen Ahmed, president of BTA; Tipu Sultan, chairman of BFLLFEA; and Md Mizanur Rahman, chief of the Leather Cell and manager of the Research Section at BSCIC.

According to the BUILD presentation, 150 operating industries at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate generate around 84,000 tonnes of tannery solid waste annually, of which 84.39% remains underutilised.

Only 15.61% of chrome-free tannery solid waste is currently utilised. Potential uses include gelatin, collagen, tallow, shoe soles, safety gloves, leatherboard, composite materials and other industrial inputs.

Smriti said better management of tannery solid waste would also support Bangladesh's transition towards a circular economy. "This will play an important role in the circular economy. We also need to think about how the waste generated from one industrial process can be linked with another industry."

The dialogue discussed the need for a tannery solid waste management policy, improvements to the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), and financing mechanisms.

BUILD recommended recognising tannery solid waste-based resource recovery and value-added products as an industrial sector, as well as formally recognising recovered, segregated and intentionally supplied tannery solid waste as industrial raw materials.

It also proposed shared waste collection, segregation, storage and processing facilities near the Savar tannery estate, registration of waste collectors, and technology transfer and pilot projects for protein, collagen, tallow and chromium recovery.

Smriti said the government is already working on the CETP issue and has held several meetings to address the existing problems.

"We hope that we will be able to come out of the problems we currently face," she said.

She also said if the recommendations from the dialogue are submitted to the ministry, it would consider them and take necessary measures within its mandate.