By Karine Aghajanyan

Making Armenians aware of the ills of plastic bag pollution by giving away fabric bags with fun art spray-painted on them.

On November 6, the initiative, whose name in Armenian translates as "No Need for a Plastic Bag", organized an event near the farmers market in front of Yerevan’s Mergelyan Park.

Toprak Petq Chi is a community project funded by the Awesome Foundation, Yerevan.

The event's description on Facebook reads:

"The weekend farmer’s market, located on the crowded corner where Komitas Avenue meets Kasyan Street several hundred meters up the hill from Barekamutyun metro station, is a local ritual for those who live near it. But in this quaint little market, plastic bags are distributed by the hundreds and at the end of the day, they litter the streets like urban tumbleweed. Much of the damage could be avoided if only people had reusable cloth bags with them".

The Toprak Petq Chi  website  states that the initiative's mantra is “It's time to start thinking outside the bag.”

Karine Vann, the organizer behind the project is from the Washington DC area. She has been living and working in Armenia for the last two years and has spent that time working in various creative spheres and non-profit initiatives. While she has no formal education in environmental studies, she believes that anyone can implement a useful project in Armenia if one has an awesome idea.

Vann said the initiative’s main goals are to first generate awareness on the dangers of pollution from plastic bags in the environment and second, promote the use of reusable cloth bags when shopping in Yerevan as an alternative to accepting plastic.

"We have a funding of only $1000 and I haven't spent all of it. We are trying to be as economical as possible. I am not just working only with environmental professionals on this project. We are all from different backgrounds and that's what makes this project unique," Karine said.

 “This problem--plastic pollution--is global, it’s not just in Armenia. But it is about time that someone came up with a way of addressing it that was tailored specifically to Armenia’s local context. Because here in Armenia, the cashier might laugh at you or try to argue with you if you attempt to say no to a plastic bag offered to you, there is a negative stigma about it. Since Soviet time, Armenians have come to see plastic bags as luxury or a convenience they have a right to. So now, it’s important we find a way to encourage people to see things differently--we want people to want to choose what is right over what is convenient,” said Karine.

"During the event passersby were invited to stencil their own designs (or those of local graphic designers') onto blank, reusable canvas bags and take them home with them, on the condition that they use them to transport their future groceries," according to the initiative's website.

Anush Grati, 21, a volunteer in Birthright Armenia from Argentina, is also a member of the initiative and was helping people choose their bag as an alternative to the plastic ones.

"I decided to take part in this initiative, because when I first came to Armenia I noticed that people are using plastic bags for absolutely everything and the environment needs to be taken care of,” Grati said.

Anush mentioned that the main importance of the event for her was to raise awareness about the environmental impact that plastic bags have.

"People are buying stuff and then it takes 5 minutes to get home and then they throw the bag in the garbage, and degradation of those take many years. Also, I thought it was a very nice and creative idea, not only to take care of the environment but also create designs, to make people decide how they want their fabric bag to look like and take part in making of the bag themselves, "Anush said.

Anush thinks that accepting the idea of using fabric alternatives instead of plastic bags is very challenging, even though she hopes public will engage slowly.

Gayane Davtyan, a local volunteer of the initiative, is very passionate about street art and taking care of the environment, which motivated her to engage in Toprak Petq Chi as a volunteer.

"I am mainly helping people to find their desired stencil design, choose the color of the paint and I am also giving them rubber gloves if they want to spray-paint their own design. It's fun for both sides and   engages interested passersby. I am making sure that everyone can get their bag out of 100 available,” Davtyan said.

Pensioner Arshak Poghosyan, a frequent visitor to the park on weekdays and the market on weekends, said that he was happily surprised to see so many young people gathered in front of the park giving out cloth bags.

"I am using the fabric bags because it is easy to carry and has a comfortable grip for my hands. Also, I can't carry heavy bags alone. I think this kind of bag should be used by everyone,” Poghosyan said.

He remembers that when he was young everyone in the neighborhood was using those cloth bags or so called avos'kas (net bags) in Russian.

“Back then very few things were made of plastic, nowadays, every shop I go they give me plastic bags," Mr. Poghosyan added.

Rima Yeghiazaryan, a representative from Homentmen Armenia, was participating in the event with her young scout students.

“I think it is very important to think about the future of the country. We give big importance to environmental education for future scouts, that is why we are here today. I am aware that the location that Karine chose is very important as well, because in this market every weekend lots of people come to buy agricultural goods and all the vegetables and fruits are offered in plastic bags, which end up in the garbage bins at the end of the day. Since Armenia is a small country, I am sure a small initiative like this will bring a big change,” said Rima.

"Armenia’s unresolved issues with trash are an ongoing concern in the 21st century. These problems take many forms, from lack of infrastructure (per research by the Armenian Environmental Network, Armenia has not one single sanitary landfill) to a lack of social awareness," states the initiative's website.

The initiative's approach is clearly stated in their website: "We don’t have to wait for the government to enact legislation for the community to start taking action.”

Karine believes the project has a bright future.

“We are hoping to collaborate with the Armenian Environmental Network and possibly become one of their projects,” said Karine.

The initiative is planning more public events like this one.  It is also looking for volunteers who can assist with promoting the project and helping to create the tote-bag stand. 

They are also looking for artists and graphic designers who can submit designs that can be used as stencils that can be painted onto bags during public pop-ups.

Interested designers can apply for volunteering HERE

Photos by Marina Thaler

(Karine Aghajanyan is a freelance journalist and writer with many years of experience in human rights education and social work. She studied Law and Political Science in Armenia. She is also a feminist activist and co-founder of the Human Rights Common Platform NGO.)