The incorporation of biopolymers, such as chrome shavings and buffing dust, into rubber blends makes it possible to obtain biodecomposable collagen-elastomer materials with good utility properties. It is the presence of a biopolymer in multicomponent polymeric materials that facilitates enzymatic hydrolysis and results in biodecomposition through the loss of cohesiveness and polymer scattering. The undertaking of such original studies was justified by the benefits resulting from a new generation of polymeric materials and the need for a solution to the problem of growing amounts of wastes by waste management in the tanning industry. In this study, the effect of a mixture of chrome shavings and buffing dust on the properties of nitrile rubbers was examined. The dust and shavings, in a 1: 1 proportion, were mixed with 5 parts by weight of zinc oxide and, in this form, was added to the rubber blends. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 122:2899-2906, 2011