Recycled Water at Primeasia

Did you know that the water treated in our wastewater plant is clean enough for koi fish to live in? As you walk up to our China Facility, you will notice the front of the building is surrounded by a koi pond with a sign that says, “The water in this pond is recycled from our leather manufacturing process."

What’s even more interesting is the work we’ve put into getting our water this clean. At PrimeAsia, we have a target of 100% recycled water in our tanneries by 2040. Currently, 58% of the water used in production is recycled. The challenge is, we need the water to be of a high enough quality that it does not impact the appearance or physical properties of our leather. This requires continual technological and chemical improvement.

In China, we automated our wastewater treatment plant which reduces the amount of chemicals used and improves the quality of the water. In Vietnam, we successfully trialed a process called a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and ozone which improves the quality and color of water while reducing the amount of sludge waste produced. The MBR will be in operationalized in Vietnam later this year and we will begin trials in China.

We will continue to look for and implement new technologies and methods that can further improve the quality of our recycled water. This in conjunction with reducing our overall water usage is critical to our goals of reducing our impact on the environment.

Continue to follow along as we work towards our sustainability goals.