A Chinese company has launched a new effort to transform the leather industry’s waste in Savar into valuable export products.
Bangladesh JW Animal Protein Co Ltd, owned by Wenzhou Yuanfei and Pingyang of China, has already set up a factory in Savar. The company is producing gelatine and is now planning to expand into industrial protein powder both made from tannery waste.
Company officials said the protein powder will be used to soften finished leather, while the gelatine will help make capsule coatings used in pharmaceuticals. Currently, both are imported by local firms.
The company plans to export 5,000 tonnes annually to China and Russia. It’s the first foreign-invested firm in Bangladesh to produce these high-value items from leather waste.
On April 8, the company signed an agreement with Dhaka Tannery Industrial Estate Waste Treatment Plant Company Ltd to collect and process the waste.
“This company will gradually collect all the chrome shaving dust from the estate. They’re building a factory on nine acres in Nayarhat, complete with its own Effluent Treatment Plant.”
Golam Shahnewaz, Managing Director, Dhaka Tannery Industrial Estate Waste Treatment Plant Company Ltd
The waste treatment firm manages the central treatment system and ensures environmental compliance for LWG (Leather Working Group) certification.
“This factory extracts gelatine from raw trimmings and turns it into capsule covers. It will also separate chrome from shaving dust to make protein powder. They’ve already got approval from the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.”
Golam Shahnewaz, Managing Director, Dhaka Tannery Industrial Estate Waste Treatment Plant Company Ltd
Every year, Savar tanneries generate 8,000 to 9,000 tonnes of chrome shaving dust. Despite moving tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar in 2017, proper solid waste management has remained a problem.
While liquid waste is treated before reaching the Dhaleshwari River, solid waste has often been dumped openly along the banks, damaging the environment and blocking tanneries from meeting LWG standards.
A full LWG score is 1,710 marks 150 of those depend on waste management. This has been a weak point for Bangladeshi tanneries.
Parvez Khan from JW Animal Protein said their products are completely for export. They’ll use wet blue leather scraps and chrome dust to make gelatine and protein powder.
“The capsule gelatine market is big worldwide. That’s our target. The protein powder will also replace some imports in leather processing.”
Parvez Khan, Official, JW Animal Protein Co Ltd
He added that unprocessed waste has polluted both the environment and food chain. With proper recycling, the company aims to prevent this and reduce health hazards.
