When Arsen Kirakosyan leased a plot of farmland adjacent to Shahumyan, a village in Armenia’s Armavir Province, he never expected the nearby Etchmiadzin municipal landfill to gradually encroach on his vegetables.

All it takes is a light wind to scatter thousands of plastic bags from the landfill to adjacent houses and farms.

“First of all, it’s impossible to work here in the summer due to the stench. We simply inhale the smoke from the fires of the dump every day. This is not a normal place for a landfill. You cannot create a garbage dump near houses. People here have gardens.  To see the soil during the summer, we must clean the plastic trash every day. This situation is completely overlooked,” says Kirakosyan.

The Etchmiadzin landfill is located 7.5 km from the town, on the right side of Etchmiadzin-Ashtarak highway.  The landfill measures seven hectares but is expanding at the expense of cultivated plots and fields.

In response to our written inquiry, Etchmiadzin Municipal Head of the Department of Housing and Communal Services Martun Dilanyan replied that the garbage collected in the landfill is crushed and covered with dirt three times a week in compliance with environmental safety regulations.

When this reporter and a Hetq photographer visited the site, we saw a different picture. The whole area was covered with garbage, and no trace of sanitary work was visible. It’s amazing how the municipality can claim to comply with safety and health regulations.

Every day, dozens of trucks dump trash at the landfill. Residents of Shahumyan, whose lands are near the landfill, and are engaged in cattle breeding and find it impossible to bypass the garbage in order to graze their animals. The animals wind up eating garbage on the way to the pastures. The villagers have reported that some of their cows have died as a result. They have no other place to graze their animals.

It should be noted that the landfill is not fenced. The Municipality of Etchmiadzin says that measures are being taken to fence the area but can’t say when.

"The current landfill site is convenient since, among other requirements, it is far from residential areas," said Martun Dilanyan.

The photos clearly show that Dilanyan’s claim is from reality. One can spot homes and cultivated fields close by.

Most of the landfills in Armavir Province are not fenced off and sorely need effective administration.