CURRENT SCENARIO OF MANAGEMENT AND UTILIZATION OF TANNERY SOLID WASTES CONCERNING THEIR USE IN LIVESTOCK FEED

Abstract

All sectors of our society generate waste: industry, agriculture, mining, transportation, construction etc. There is a belief existing in our society that tannery industry is the large contributor of chromium pollution. A field survey was conducted regarding the management and utilization of tannery solid waste in response to its use in livestock feed at Hemayetpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh, the mostly tannery dense area of the country. 20 different respondents (manager) from 20 different types of tanneries were interviewed to attain the exact picture of tannery waste management and utilization. According to the study, the generation rate of solid waste is 28.88% of total raw hides and skin. On the other hand, the percentage of generation of finished leather which was referred as the final product by the author was 22.72%. Among all the different types of tannery solid wastes chrome shaving was generated at 31.8% based on total amount of solid waste. After this the rate was 28.85% in case of Chrome splitting generation. The main type of solid waste which has raised concern for the use as poultry feed is Wet blue trimmings which was generated at 3.84%. The study also unearthed that 55% of the tanneries dispose their tannery solid by landfilling and 30% sell their solid waste for poultry feed preparation. Besides, the study showed that only 0.019% of the total poultry feed produced a year in this country could be consisted of tannery solid wastes which is trivial in number and negligible. It is the food for thought for the researchers whether the safety level of heavy metals is ensured in poultry feed and for the food safety for human consumption.