The process of galvanisation of steel generates zinc ash as the waste product, thus creating pollution problems. The recovery of zinc metal from zinc ash, with a zinc content of about 76% by leaching and electrowinning has been studied. The presence of chloride has been identified as the major problem area. A catalytic anode based on iridium dioxide (IrO2) was used as the anode material to overcome this problem. Catalyst loading was kept at an economically acceptable level. The catalyst's stability, energy consumption and efficiency of zinc recovery are discussed. The service life of the IrO2 active coating has been established by an accelerated polarisation test. The zinc deposit recovered from the zinc ash has been examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.