KARACHI: Modern technologies should be adopted to address the issues of solid waste and wastewater in industries that pose a serious threat to the environment, experts said on Thursday.
Speakers at a workshop on "Low-carbon Waste Technologies and Practices for Leather Industries", jointly organized by Pakistan's Tanners Association (PTA), United Nations Industrial Development Organization-Global Environment Facility (UNIDO-GEF) and WWF-Pakistan under its International Labour and Environmental Standards (ILES) Application in Pakistan's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) project at a hotel here, said that industries should reduce use of freshwater, recycle products, minimize solid waste and treat wastewater properly.
Muhammad Aslam Ghauri, Secretary Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development, Government of Sindh, underscored the significance of low-carbon modern technologies and knowledge sharing platforms in addressing the challenges of the textile and leather sector in Sindh.
He mentioned that environmental challenges should be taken as opportunities and joint efforts can help improve the productivity of this sector. He said that there is room for improvement in environmental regulations and encouraged participants to share their suggestions in this regard.
He also said that success of any development initiative depends on its environmental sustainability. Therefore, steps should be taken to reduce pollution and environmental degradation.
Gulzar Feroz, President, Pakistan's Tanners Association (South Zone) Environment Society, said that Pakistan produces the best quality leather which is exported to Europe and other countries.
He shared that although leather is the second largest contributor after textile to the GDP of Pakistan, it is facing issues relating to environmental sustainability.
He was of the view that disposal of solid waste and wastewater from tanneries is a serious challenge for which they are transforming leather processing industries towards low carbon emissions and adopting climate resilient development plans.
To ensure proper solid waste management, capacity of the relevant staff is being enhanced to improve efficiency of the leather industries.
"The existing wastewater treatment plant is being upgraded with the support of UNIDO-GEF where modern technology will be used to address the issue of wastewater in Korangi leather zone," he added. Meanwhile, Arjmand Qayum, Coordinator ILES Project, WWF-Pakistan, said that the leather and textile sectors are very resource intensive, and generate significant amount of wastewater and solid waste pollution in the environment. He emphasized that tanneries and textile sectors should adopt cleaner production techniques and improve the environmental compliance throughout their supply chains.
This will help improve environmental sustainability and ensure continuity of products for international markets.
Dr. Atif Mustafa, Chair of Environmental Engineering Department at NED University said at the time of Independence, we had only 34 industrial units which increased to 6,417 units in 2005-2006.
Regarding environmental impacts of industries, he said that the sector is a major contributor to pollution, which creates serious problems.
He said that we should adopt a circular economy approach that enhances income and considerably minimizes waste and environmental pollution.
He said that industrial waste should be used to produce value added products and can help reduce the environmental footprints. He also highlighted the need for collaborative efforts between industry and academia in various research fields.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020