The Savar Tannery Estate authority is going to dump solid waste of tanneries in Amin Bazar landfill for the time-being as setting up of a sludge-based power plant for managing such wastes will take two more years.The estate authority agreed to pay Tk 1,000 to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) per truck as per the Corporation’s demand for dumping the tannery wastes in the landfill, according to a source in the estate.Though the tannery estate started its operation, the establishment of five-megawatt Sludge Power Generation System (SPGS) is taking time because the original project missed out provision of solid waste management.Later, the SPGS project was approved in the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in 2014.The plant is supposed to produce electricity by processing 60 per cent solid wastes from the dumping yard and 40 per cent coke which will be supplied to industrial parks.DNCC chief waste management officer Mohammad Abdur Razzak told the FE they attached the condition in line with the guidelines of the local government ministry when the estate authority asked for dumping the wastes.The DNCC demanded Tk 1,000 as fee for disposal of per tonne solid waste in addition to mandatory certificate from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology that the wastes are free from chromium and lead.The DNCC also demanded that the wastes should be packed by the tanners.Mr Razzak said the estate authority provided a certificate to the DNCC from Prof Delwar Hossain of BUET Civil Engineering Department, who is also their official consultant.”We wanted a certificate from environmental experts, not a civil engineer,” he said.He also said the Amin Bazar landfill project will expire at the end of this year. It has very little space for tannery wastes.At present, 48 tanneries out of total 154, processing hide and solid wastes in Savar, are already causing severe air pollution in the surrounding areas.According to an assessment by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), solid wastes amounting to 80 tonnes would be generated daily when all the 154 factories will go into operation.Prof Delwar Hossain told the FE that the wastes are free from toxic materials.”We tested the wastes and it is perfectly alright to dump these in the landfill,” he said.He said Tk 40 million was allocated for the solid waste dumping ground in the project. Now Tk 1,000 will be paid to the DNCC for each truck from that fund.Experts say tanneries possibly have the highest level of waste disposal among industries. It has been reported that only about 20 per cent of chemicals used in tanning process is absorbed by leather. The rest 80 per cent is released as wastes.The chemicals used during soaking, tanning and post-tanning processing of hides and skins mainly include sodium sulphite and basic chromium sulphate including non-ionic wetting agents, bactericides, soda ash, calcium oxide, ammonium sulphite, ammonium chloride and enzymes.Chromium can cause illnesses such as allergy, eczema and dermatitis.Environmental Science Professor at Independent University M. Lutfor Rahman said using tannery wastes in landfill is very critical.”Tannery wastes can be dumped at the landfill but they have to be careful about leaching of toxic materials,” he said.He said if toxic materials of wastes mix with water and environment, it will be very harmful for the entire ecosystem. Mr Rahman said these wastes should be managed and used for various purposes including producing poultry feeds.
