Early environmental complaints at new Bangladesh tanning cluster
08/09/2016
At the start of September, Dhaka-based newspaper Prothom Alo published an article accusing two tanneries already producing at Savar of poor environmental practice. Specifically, the newspaper said that, with no effluent treatment plant fully in place yet at Savar, the first tanneries producing there have simply dumped effluent and fleshings at Savar or have taken waste to Hazaribagh for disposal without any treatment. It published a series of photographs to accompany the article.
Apex Footwear has confirmed to World Leather that it is one of the leather-producing companies involved; the other is believed to be Reliance Industries. Reliance has not responded to our request for more information.
According to Apex, the problems occurred during trial runs at Savar. It said that when it became clear that the two tanneries were discharging chrome float and wastewater into storm drains, the government-owned body that runs the Savar site, the Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), immediately put a stop to production. It also said that local people had complained about odour problems from a build-up of solid waste in the yard at Savar.
Apex has explained that, although the modules for centrally processing chrome-containing used floats and wastewater at Savar are in place, early-movers have run into difficulties at the new site because pipes to take chrome float and wastewater from individual tanneries to the central processing modules have not been installed yet. Apex said it believes these pipes will be in place before the end of September.
With regard to solid waste, the company explained that there has been a delay in sourcing the required processing machinery from China, but said this equipment should be in place at Savar within six weeks.
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