A.F.B. van der Poel

Tanning waste by-product from cattle hides, its suitability as a feedstuff

Abstract The waste produced from processing cattle hide into leather is a polluting material, high in chromium content. Chromium can be extracted and recycled in the tanning process of leather, leaving a new waste by-product. This is high in protein with a high digestibility. Its amino acid pattern is of a better quality than feather meal and is equal to meat meal and soybean meal. Its disadvantages are high contents of sodium and chloride, which may cause problems in formulating rations for farm animals. It can be used in rations at up to 1% without any extra addition of NaCl. Its chromium content does not create a problem.

The Benefit of Feed from Waste

Advances in technology have resulted in an improved standard of living in many parts of the world. Because of differences in the rate of population growth, developed countries have benefited most from these advances. Developing countries are also demanding an improved standard of living and, for these countries, the first condition to be improved is the supply of an adequate diet. However, the failure of crops owing to adverse weather conditions and invasions of predators as well as a rapid rate of population growth may cause widespread misery and even death. Unfortunately, this situation represents an unresolved problem in the Third World today (Rolfe, 1976). Emphasis, therefore, is put on increasing food supplies in traditional as well as other ways. Traditional ways include the exhaustion of soil and sea to yield more food with the help of high-yielding crop varieties (hybrids) as well as the use of fertilizers and irrigation. In addition to these traditional ways, alertness to the problem of waste disposal and its utilization has been regularly postulated (Inglett, 1973; Birch et al., 1976;El Boushy, 1986;Boucque and Fiems, 1988;Boda, 1990;El Boushy, 1990).