A new source-separation system for municipal solid waste has been introduced in the town of Sevan, Gegharkunik Region, Armenia. The initiative aims to improve local waste management and foster a culture of waste sorting among residents. As part of assistance worth approximately €300,000, Sevan Municipality received 1,680 European-made waste containers and a waste collection truck.
The waste sorting system was introduced within the framework of Swedish-funded *Waste Policy Armenia* program, implemented by the Acopian Center for the Environment at the American University of Armenia. The separate collection of sorted waste is carried out by Kotayk and Gegharkunik Municipal Solid Waste Management LLC, which operates Armenia’s first sanitary landfill. The landfill serves communities in the Kotayk and Gegharkunik Regions.
“Waste is now collected more frequently and no longer accumulates. A new culture has emerged in our community-the understanding that waste should be sorted and removed on time,” said Satik Badeyan, President of the Center for Territorial Development and Research NGO, in an interview with EcoLur.
She emphasized the importance of fostering responsible behavior among residents, noting that awareness-raising campaigns play a major role in this process. In Sevan, a public awareness campaign was conducted by Sevan Youth Club NGO with the support of the American University of Armenia.
“A lot has changed, and I hope the old habits do not return,” Satik Badeyan noted.
She also stressed the importance of adopting Armenia’s Law on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which envisages a system under which producers and importers of specific products will be responsible for ensuring the safe management of certain waste streams generated by those products.
“This is a piece of legislation I have been looking forward to for a long time. The experience of developed European countries has shown that it is highly effective when the polluter pays for the environmentally sound management of waste. Armenia has long needed such a system. When people do not pay for anything, they tend to behave purely as consumers, leaving behind and accumulating waste. But people can change their behavior, and they often do so when it affects their wallets in some way.
There is discussion that, ultimately, consumers will bear the cost because producers, once they begin paying for waste management, may incorporate those costs into product prices. I consider that normal. In that case, people may also start buying less, which would address the very first and most important level of waste management-waste prevention. After that, they will begin thinking about how waste can be reused, recycled, and kept out of landfills as much as possible,” Satik Badeyan noted.
May 29, 2026 at 12:38