Utilization of solid wastes from the leather industry as a potential alternative adsorbent for removal of Cr (VI), phenol and dyes from aqueous solution is the objective of this study. Chromium shaving and activated waste sludge from the tannery industry were used as an adsorbent. Although both shavings and waste sludge showed low removal efficiency for phenol, they had high adsorption capacity for Acid Red 111. Due to presence of excess positive charge on its surface, shavings had low affinity to both Basic Red 18 and chromate. However, their adsorption on activated sludge compared well with other low-cost adsorbents.