There are 930 communities in Armenia, including: 48 urban and 882 rural. There are approximately 60 communal landfills currently operating, which were constructed during the Soviet period and do not comply with sanitary-hygienic and environmental requirements of today’s regulations

It is estimated that more than 700 thousand tons of waste is deposited in the landfills annually. The total area for landfills’ is approximately 250 hectares. The largest landfill site is Nubarashen’s landfill in Yerevan (52.3 hectare), other major sites include landfills in Vanadzore (13 hectare), Gyumri (10 hectare), Armavir (8 hectare), Echmiadzin (7hectare), Hrazdan (6 hectare).

 

The majority of minor settlements use periodically operated and uncontrolled non-permitted dumpsites, where more than 20% of the total volume of municipal solid waste is deposited annually.

 

In addition to the municipal solid waste, a large quantity of secondary raw materials, production and construction waste is deposited in the landfills and dumpsites. Currently, no materials’ sorting, recycling or recovery takes place prior to deposit. Sorting of waste for recycling (paper, pasteboard, metal, glass, plastics) is carried out spontaneously on the landfills and dumpsites, the procedure is not regulated and is uncontrolled.   

 

Today waste management and sanitary cleaning works are implemented by 64 organizations having different status (LTD-s, CJSC-s), 14 of which are operated in Yerevan.

 

 According to statistical data, in 2003, there were 541 specialized vehicles involved in municipal waste collection and street cleaning and other sanitary works, back in 1992: there were 1112 vehicles involved. The works are carried out in 44 towns of the republic, and 209 out of 541 vehicles (38.6%) are used for transporting waste. In Yerevan out of a total of 251 vehicles, 85 vehicles are used for transporting waste.  In the last 14 years virtually no new vehicles have been purchased and number of operating vehicles reduces year to year because of the age of the vehicles and lack of regular servicing and maintenance.  

 

The total annual income of waste organizations in 2003 was 2289,9 million dram, and total expenditure 2224,9 million dram. The income from the population for these rendered services was only 516,5 million dram.