Tannery waste: From pollution burden to Tk3,000cr opportunity

Infographic/TBS

Bangladesh's tannery waste could generate an additional Tk2,000-3,000 crore in annual revenue if it is properly processed and turned into value-added products, experts and industry stakeholders said at a roundtable yesterday (3 September).

They called for policy support, financial incentives, green financing, and stronger market linkages to develop the tannery waste-processing industry and align it with a circular-economy framework.

The call came at the "Circular Value from Tannery Waste" roundtable organised by The Business Standard, the Asia Foundation, and Practical Action Consulting Bangladesh at TBS office in the capital.

State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam said Bangladesh's tannery industry had significant potential in the global market, but tapping that potential would require proper product documentation, environmental compliance and adherence to international standards.

He described the tannery sector as a high-risk industry and stressed the need for stronger management, saying environmental issues had not received adequate priority while the industry remained profitable, eventually hurting its competitiveness in the international market.

The minister also raised concerns over environmental clearances in the sector. According to the latest data he cited, only five of 161 industrial units had renewed their environmental approvals.

He said environmental protection should not mean shutting down industries and stressed the need to balance environmental safeguards with business interests.

Waste-to-value opportunity

Experts said the relocation of tanneries to Savar in 2017 disrupted backward-linkage industries, contributing to the accumulation of solid waste in open areas and pollution of nearby rivers. They called for targeted support and financial assistance for waste-processing enterprises.

Abdur Rob, study team leader at Practical Action Consulting, presented a policy draft on tannery solid-waste management and resource recovery.

He said large quantities of solid waste were generated daily at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate, most of which remained mismanaged and unrecycled. Collagen-rich waste, he noted, could be converted into high-value products such as gelatin, industrial tallow, bio-fertiliser and leather board.

MG Shahnewaz, managing director of Dhaka Tannery Industrial Estate Waste Treatment Plant Company, said solid waste accounted for around 55%-65% of the total waste processed in tanneries and estimated that proper value addition could generate Tk2,000-3,000 crore in additional annual revenue.

He said chrome shaving dust, fleshings and other by-products could be used to manufacture blue gelatin, capsule shells, facial proteins and accessory materials. Environment-friendly tiles and bricks had also been produced using tannery effluent treatment plant sludge, he added.

Policy and compliance gaps

Ishrat Shabnam, country director of Practical Action in Bangladesh, said leather-waste sources needed to be identified and specific policies and guidelines developed, with public and private organisations taking coordinated action.

Mohammad Navid Safiullah, additional secretary at the environment, forest and climate change ministry, said the leather industry is Bangladesh's second-largest export sector but remains far below its potential.

He called for a time-bound action plan to address inter-agency coordination problems and documentation gaps, alongside safe working conditions, women's rights and green financing.

Ashiqur Rahman, vice chairman of the Bangladesh Tanners Association and owner of Tazin Leather Corporation, said nearly 30% of raw hides are being spoiled or turned into waste because of improper leather pricing and procedural complexities.

He called for special accelerator facilities and policy support for businesses involved in processing leather waste.

Afzal Hossain, an auditor for the Leather Working Group, said Bangladesh had a shortage of domestic entrepreneurs and local technology for leather-waste management. He noted that Chinese and other foreign investors were collecting and processing shaving dust and other by-products in Bangladesh while local capacity remained limited.

Goutam Kumar Ghosh, director of the Financial Company Regulation and Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank, said solid-waste management at the Savar Leather Industrial Estate needs to be brought under a structured standard system.

He also stressed the importance of enabling small entrepreneurs to participate in waste utilisation and noted that the government had allocated Tk200 crore for the tannery industry.

Small entrepreneurs could play a bigger role

Professor Abdul Mottalib, deputy programme director at the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology at the University of Dhaka, said the global leather and leather-goods market was worth around $530 billion.

He said raw trimmings and fleshings did not contain harmful chromium or chemicals and could be converted into 21 types of by-products. Bangladesh currently captures only around $2 billion of the global market, which he attributed to a lack of Leather Working Group-certified tanneries and compliance.

Md Fardoush Anwar, director of the Department of Environment, said, "Among the 162 factories in the Savar Leather Industrial Estate, only about 61 to 62 were initially eligible to receive environmental clearance. Currently, only around 5 factories hold valid, renewed clearances, which is alarming."

UNIDO National Project Coordinator Asadun Noor said circular-economy practices, particularly leather-waste management, were important for Bangladesh's sustainable economic development. He noted that while the country follows the 2012 Solid Waste Management Rules, it does not have a comprehensive national policy or strategy specifically covering circular economy or recycling.

Md Masud Hossain Khan, group CEO of JW Animal Protein Co Ltd, said two of his company's businesses were producing powder from leather-sector waste and by-products for domestic consumption and export. The companies currently have around Tk100 crore invested in the businesses.

Md Nayem Hossain, head of HR and compliance at Vulua Tannery, said compliance in the leather industry remained much lower than in the apparel sector, with many factories lacking ISO certification or proper environmental licences.

Ainee Islam, programme director at The Asia Foundation, said the sector still lacked organised and institutional efforts. She said a comprehensive study based on stakeholder views and field-level data was being prepared, with detailed strategies and policy recommendations to be presented to the government and international development partners.

The event was also attended by Md Alam Hossain, director, Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation; Abul Kalam Azad, president, Tannery Worker's Union; Rehana Akter Ruma, project manager, Solidaridad's tile-making project using tannery waste; Kauser Ali, founder and head of operations, iDEA TREE; Md Mustafa Kamal, executive director of Zamzam Noor Group; Professor Mohammad Sarwar Morshed of Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering (MPE), AUST; and Ipshita Habib, GESI specialist.

AM Sajjad Hossain, senior project manager of The Asia Foundation; Rakibul Hasan, assistant manager, iDEA TREE; Kashfia Zaman, programme associate of The Asia Foundation; LM Sirajus Salekin, specialist of Sustainable Finance & Green Enterprise at Practical Action in Bangladesh; A G Mutasim Islam, communications manager of The Asia Foundation, Abdullah Al Kawser, executive officer (Projects and Programme Focal) of Bangladesh Tanners Association; and Md Golam Mostofa, assistant engineer, Leather Cell of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), were also present during the roundtable discussion.