Buffing dust from chrome tanned leather is one of the difficult tannery wastes to manage. It is also hazardous to both human health and the environment. The scientific literature rarely reports studies on dust management, especially on its utilization as a filler for elastomers. In this connection we have made an attempt to use this leather waste as a filler for rubbers such as XNBR and NBR. The addition of the buffing dust to rubber mixes brought improvement in mechanical properties, and increase in resistance to thermal ageing as well as in electric conductivity and crosslink density of vulcalizates. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.