China’s new wastewater standards could force 45% of tanneries there out of business
05/03/2014
The country’s ministry of environmental protection has said its aim in introducing the new standard is to cut the amount of waste from tanneries (see earlier leatherbiz story China sets new targets for leather industry pollution). The demands appear substantial and are likely to require significant new investment from many leather producers across China.
A note from the ministry said it acknowledged the new standard may prove “impossible to attain” for perhaps as many as 45% of tanners in the country. China is believed to have around 3,000 tanneries at the moment. Those processing fewer than 50,000 hides a year may have to cease production, it said.
This message is in keeping with recent comments on the subject from the China Leather Industry Association.
Specific details from the new standard include reductions in the chemical oxygen demand levels of tannery effluent, as well as in the ammonia and chromium content.
China’s ministry of environmental protection has estimated that the leather industry will need to invest a combined total of more than $300 million to upgrade wastewater treatment plants and production processes.
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