(Featured image courtesy Aimswatermanagement.com)

Tiruppur – a two-tier city in Tamil Nadu, is known for its textile industry and contributes to more than 54 percent of India’s overall knitwear exports. With hundreds of dyeing and bleaching units, the district, along with generating employment opportunities, also generates tonnes of liquid waste.

The year 2011 was deeply etched in the history of Tiruppur after the Madras High Court ordered the closure of all the dyeing and bleaching units to save the Noyyal River from pollution and toxic waste emanating from these units.

Following the court order, 700 dyeing, bleaching, and common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) in the city were closed. This left nearly 50,000 people jobless and had a great financial impact on the industry.

This order brought about a major change in the textile industry and paved the way for their sustainable journey. How? In June 2012, 18 CETPs reopened in Tiruppur and implemented the zero liquid discharge system (ZLDs).

The system recovers and reuses nearly all industrial effluent, leaving........

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