Q: Is municipal solid waste recycled in Armenia?
Yes. Partly. There is capacity in the country to recycle glass, paper, metals, and some types of plastic waste. The recyclers report supply issues, meaning that even with the existing capacities the country can recycle even more.
Q: How much municipal solid waste is recycled in Armenia?
There is no clear data on the quantities of recycled waste. Estimates vary depending on the source.
Q: How the recyclable waste is sorted and collected in Armenia?
Recyclable waste is sorted and collected in three ways. The majority of recycled waste is sorted and collected from mixed waste arriving in landfills. Some municipalities have set up sorted collection partially covering the municipality area, however, most of those local authority lead initiatives couldn’t ensure efficient operation of simply didn’t work out and stopped. The third way the recyclable waste is sorted and collected in Armenia is through civic or private sector initiatives lead by organizations, such as EcoAghb, ISSD, Apaga, Tapon.am, and others.
Q: Which types of solid wastes are recycled in Armenia?
All kinds of glass packaging, paper and cardboard, metals, and some types of plastics. Some small quantities of organic wastes such as caw manure and straws are recycled through vermi-composting.
Q: Is there any guidance on how to sort waste properly?
The municipality of Yerevan has published videos (in Armenian) on how to sort plastic, how to sort glass, and how to sort paper.
Q: Is there a map of sorting containers in Yerevan?
The municipality of Yerevan has published a map of sorting bins installed in the city of Yerevan.
Q: Is there capacity to recycle or treat hazardous waste in Armenia?
As of 2022, there are only a few types of hazardous waste that are being recycled or treated. Hazardous waste from healthcare institutions is collected by licensed companies and incinerated (without energy recovery) along with some other types of hazardous wastes, such as expired cosmetics. Little quantities of car tires are recycled through pyrolysis or gasification technology. Car batteries are collected for lead recovery, however, this includes lots of informal operations that create many public health and environmental risks relative to waste acid electrolyte discharge. All other types of hazardous waste are mostly dumped.
Q: Are the portable batteries recycled in Armenia?
No. There is no capacity to recycle or treat portable batteries in the country. Since the waste portable batteries are hazardous, their collection, transportation, and treatment requires licensing according to RA legislation.
Q: Is there energy recovery from waste in Armenia?
Energy recovery is happening through partial methane capture at Nubarashen dumpsite in Yerevan. Other examples of energy recovery from waste is 6 small-scale plants for recovery of biogas from cattle manure. The actual state of the plants operations is unclear. Reportedly, many of them experience issues with manure supply.
Q: Is there any list of recycling plants in Armenia?
AUA Acopian Center for the Environment keeps an up to date list of actually operating recycling plants in Armenia.
Q: Is there any list of reports on waste-related studies completed in Armenia?
AUA Acopian Center for the Environment keeps an up to date list of reports on waste-related studies and policy papers.
Q: How many dumpsites are in Armenia?
A study conducted by AUA Acopian Center for the Environment suggests that as of 2019 the number of dumps reportedly operated by the municipalities in the country totals to around 300. The number of unused or covered dumps varies depending on sources from 200 to 300.
Q: What are the ongoing or planned infrastructure investments on waste in Armenia?
As of 2022, the ongoing major infrastructure investment project on waste is the ‘Kotayk-Gegharkunik MSW Project’, that will service the entire provinces of Kotayq and Gegharkunik. The project budget is 11 million euros that includes construction of a new sanitary landfill, closure of existing Hrazdan landfill, moving waste of small dumpsites from Kotayk and Gegharkunik to the new landfill, building two waste transfer stations, including recyclable waste storages in Akunk (Kotayk Province) and Martuni (Gegharkunik Province), acquisition of garbage trucks, containers, and other waste management equipment. A similar project is going to start in Yerevan that will cover the capital and adjacent communities. Both projects do not provide for sorting at source and sorted collection of dry recyclable and organic wastes. There is a plan to develop five more similar regional sanitary landfills in the country while closing the existing 300 operated dumpsites.
Q: What are the ongoing or planned waste-related policy reforms in Armenia?
Many policy reforms are envisioned through a number of commitments on environment set in the Comprehensive Enhanced Partnership Agreement between EU and Republic of Armenia. One of the major reforms is going to be the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in the country to manage specific types of waste (e.g. packaging, car batteries and tires, and WEEE, among others)
Q: How much municipal solid waste is generated in Armenia?
The recent 2019 study conducted by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment suggests that Armenia generated around 740,000 tons of MSW in 2019. The same study suggests 300 kg per capita annual waste generation in the city of Yerevan, while the average for marzes is 220 kg per capita annually. This figures might vary from source to source, and would heavily depend on data collection methodology. Other sources of waste quantity are referred in the mentioned study.
Q: What is the typical composition of municipal solid waste generated in Armenia?
The recent 2019 study conducted by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment suggests the typically the MSW generated in Armenia has the following composition by weight: 46% kitchen waste, 13% plastics, 10% garden waste, 7% textiles, 6% paper and cardboard, 4% glass, 3% diapers, 2% metals, and 9% other wastes. Surprisingly, the kitchen waste generated by households varies between 42% and 60% depending on location. This figures might vary from source to source, and would heavily depend on seasonality and data collection methodology. For more details see the mentioned study.