Investigation of waste management practices and cleaner production application in a tannery : case study

This research study investigated ways of rationalizing chemical water and energy consumption usage and reducing waste discharge in a tannery. The work was motivated by the need to achieve sustainable development through the use of best practices to achieve compliance with environmental regulations through the application of Cleaner Production initiatives. The processes involved stripping of over 70% of animal skin wet mass, to retain a refined product. It is this non-useable material which is contaminated with process chemicals that is a cause for environmental concern. Effort was made to explore areas that consumed the most resources, and had the most emissions, with a view to recover, reuse and recycle or substitute waste material generated in the tannery