According toRepublicofArmenia's Ministry of Urban Construction, every year over 700,000 tons of waste are generated in the country.

Every day 450-470 ton of municipal waste are transported to the Nubarashen landfill. This data was presented a spring 2006 roundtable discussion entitled “A Rational Approach to Managing the Tough Issue of Municipal Waste Management.”

A rational approach to waste management does not yet exist

No waste sorting or recycling occurs in any of the 60 landfills inArmenia; instead an easier approach is taken. The garbage is thrown into a working area set to be used that day, then bulldozers flatten the working area, creating a garbage layer 0.3 meters thick. Over the last 50 years, this approach has created over 7.5 million tons of domestic waste in the Nubarashen landfill, out of which it is planned to extract 1.4 megawatts of electricity using Japanese technology.

According to 2006 data provided by the Yerevan Municipality, 10% of the municipal waste that goes to Nubarashen landfill is paper, 25% is food waste, 3 percent is textile, 3% polyethylene, 5% is glass, 43% are stones and livestock excrement.

As a result of poor safety regulations in the landfills, the waste spontaneously combusts, emitting dangerous pollutants. The waste fields are not technically equipped; there is no system of calculating waste, machines are not washed, and the waste layers are not flattened and covered with soil. There are no facilities to sort, recycle and reuse the waste. The sorting of recyclable waste, paper, carton, metal, glass and plastics is done haphazardly, primarily by individuals who enter the landfills.

We don't throw anything away

Entrepreneur Yuri Sahakyan's approach to garbage is purely business.

The plastic parts of refrigerators made in Soviet times and now obsolete, washing machines, surfboards, women's shoe heels, phones and any waste that consists of plastics, become profile (construction material) in Yuri Sahakyan's workshop.

“It's known that plastic can be recycled many times, but I'm the only one inArmeniawho created a workshop to make plastic profiles from plastic waste, “ said Yuri Sahakyan, director and founder of the company Poli Serv. The workshop has been in operation for eight years in the building that used to house Abovyan's textile factory. It produces 100 types of profiles and is known as one of the leading companies in the field inArmenia.

 “I receive materials from people who collect them from different refrigerators, or from washing machine repair workshops, garbage cans, streets. I pay $1 for one kilo. By reusing second hand materials, I save money, because newly made materials cost $2 per kilo. Also, the quality of my products doesn't suffer, otherwise we wouldn't be among the leaders. Furthermore, my approach has environmental significance,” Sahakyan said. Each month his workshop processes 5-10 tons of material, half of which are from recycled materials.

Soon new technology will be implemented on the first floor of the factory, which will help to recycle plastic bottles.

“I lived for 20 days inGermany, where there are four different colored garbage cans. It's not a hard thing to learn to throw garbage in the respective cans, but we do not have that opportunity yet,” Sahakyan said.

Each month, Hakob Barseghyan brings about 500 kilos of plastic to Poli Serv. For ten years this job has brought in some additional income, and he already knows many of the refrigerator and washing machine repairmen. “I know that people find many plastic items in the garbage dumps, they even bring shoe soles for recycling. If you use your brains, there is a lot stuff that can be found and sold, “ he said.

Landfill combustion is hazardous to the health

Domestic waste is diverse in its ingredients and composition. It can consist of wood, glass, resin items, paper, food remnants, waste from gardens or farms, plastic items – plastic cups, bottles, toys, plastic bags, linoleum, construction materials and so on.

The waste fields spontaneously combust, and as a result substances hazardous to human health are emitted into the atmosphere—nitrogen and sulfuric oxides, sulfuric gas, and sulfuric monoxide if the burning is not complete.

 “The air is polluted with extremely poisonous and stable organic elements – dioxides. The poisonous elements that are created by combustion increase the danger of various illnesses. For instance, as a result of waste combustion, the condition of individuals suffering from bronchitis worsens. The sulfuric gas that is created as a result of incomplete combustion of waste quickly attaches to the hemoglobin in blood and hinders oxygen transportation. Cyanides, extremely poisonous pollutants, are created when items and fabrics (such as soft furniture and liquid for washing car seats, nylon and synthetic fabrics) containing paralone or polyurethane are burned. Cyanides impede blood circulation and oxygen distribution, and this aggravates respiratory and heart disease, “ said Lilik Simonyan, executive director of the NGO Armenian Women for Health and a Clean Environment.

7.5 million tons of domestic garbage equals 1.4 megawatts of electricity

From 2005, theYerevanMunicipalityhas been working with the Japanese Shimizu Corporation to implement a project to extract methane from the Nubarashen landfill to produce electricity.

The goal of the project is to extract methane from the 7.5 million tons of waste in the field, burn it and obtain electricity. In 2005 the Armenian government endorsed the project. In 2006, a Memo of Mutual Understanding was signed between theYerevanMunicipality, the Ministry of Nature Protection and the Shimizu Corporation, according to which combustion must be prevented in the waste field, and the surrounding area's air is to be cleaned.

“During last week's meeting with representatives fromShimizu, we found out that some of the issues related to the previously signed agreement need to be reviewed. If there is a mutual agreement on these issues, then the work can start. The project will take 16 years. The overall cost is 8 million dollars. It is planned to produce over 1.4 megawatts of electricity, “ said Gagik Khachatryan, head of Yerevan Municipal Utility Department.

“Also, in order to correctly organize the waste management in the capital, theMoscow-based AvtoBanInvest-Centre Ltd. has been conducting research from 2005 to 2008. The project plans to organize waste management and sanitation works inYerevan, and to build a waste sorting factory in a new location. According to the company, these activities will require investments of 20-22 million, “ Khachatryan said.

Both of these programs are currently under negotiation.