Of all types of municipal solid waste (MSW), plastic is the most problematic. This material based on synthetic or natural macromolecular compounds — polymers — was invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907, and already in the 1960s became a major threat to environmental pollution, especially the oceans.

And although there are no sea or ocean coasts in Armenia, the large-scale use of plastic has serious negative consequences. According to OSCE estimates for 2016, plastic packaging, bottles and bags have become the main water pollutants in the country. Armenia annually imports more than 622 tons of plastic bags, and generates disproportionately more garbage from polyethylene — about 5,000 tons!

In the structure of waste in Armenia, 46% is food, 10% gardening, 7% textiles, 6% paper and cardboard, 4% glass, 3% diapers, 2% metals and 9% mixed waste. And 13% belongs to plastic.

However, these values may turn out to be far from the truth, since, according to Harutyun Alpetyan, an expert on circular economy of the AUA Acopian Environmental Center, statistics on solid waste in Armenia are not mandatory and are collected mainly within the framework of some programme, during a certain year. Municipal authorities report the data to the Statistical Committee on Industrial Waste, and these data are most often not true.

The problem is that the country does not have a clearly formulated policy in the field of waste management. The topic has only recently begun to rise in society thanks to private youth initiatives that call on the authorities to install sorting containers everywhere in Armenia, or at least in the capital.

The Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Waste”, according to Harutyun Alpetyan, interprets the definition of garbage very vaguely. According to the document, waste are the remains of raw materials, products formed in the process of production or consumption, as well as those products that have lost their original consumer properties.

The problem of pollution with plastic waste has been known for a long time: 80 years ago it was found in the stomachs of seabirds. Now for this reason, about 1 million birds die every year, and it is predicted that by 2050 plastic will become a threat to 99% of seabird species. There is little information about such a “derivative” of it as microplastics. There is none in Armenia either. In the country, no one has done research to assess the extent of plastic pollution, let alone microplastics. These are the smallest polymer particles less than half a millimeter in size, resulting from the release of plastic waste into the environment and insoluble in water. They cannot be collected, disposed of or recycled.

According to Harutyun Alpetyan, microplastics have two main sources. The first is plastic that ends up in water bodies and undergoes photodegradation. And the second is often ignored. “When we wash clothes that contain polyester, a lot of microplastic comes out of the clothes and goes down the drain. Effluent flows into rivers, Lake Sevan and groundwater. Therefore, microplastics are present almost everywhere,” the expert draws attention to the problem.

But that's not all. After all, what are plastics made of? 144 different chemicals or their groups that are hazardous to human health may be added to it. With the help of these additives, plastics are given various properties: from antimicrobial activity to dyes, flame retardants, solvents, UV stabilizers and plasticizers. For example, many food containers, infant formula bottles, plastic water bottles, and hygiene products contain the industrial chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). Now it is already found in the blood of 9 out of 10 Americans, according to research. And 99% of the pregnant women tested had PFCs, perfluorinated chemicals used in non-stick cookware, and PBDEs, polybrominated biphenyls used in fire retardants.

In the production of food packaging and a wide range of consumer products - from cleaning products to cosmetics and clothing — they also add PFAS — a group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They have thermal, water, frost and dirt-repellent properties, are extremely toxic and recognized as “eternal chemical environmental pollutants”. For this reason they are banned in the EU and in many states of the USA.

Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a universal problem. Testing of human samples shows that almost all people have EDCs in their bodies.

Not only is the impact of microplastics on human health not studied in Armenia, but no one has yet assessed the harm from burning garbage at many landfills. This is often practiced in the country.

She reminded of explosion at the Surmalu market in Yerevan on August 16, 2022. Many of the items sold there had PFAS in them. As they burned, nerve gas was released during their decay. And in a gasified state, the microparticles of burning PFAS can be carried tens of kilometers in the direction of the wind. The air was extremely poisonous. Rescuers, journalists, volunteers and residents of the area were seriously injured.

The problem of microplastic pollution is practically not discussed in Armenia. There is little information about it in Armenian. However, cosmetics dealers began to write indiscriminately on social networks that their products do not contain microplastics.

“The use of microplastics in care products by a manufacturer is beneficial and effective. Polypropylene and polymethylene ensure the interaction of chemicals with each other, give the product density, as, for example, in nail polishes, which, thanks to additives, turn out to be of better quality,” says Navasardyan.

Veronika Navasardyan refers to the latest foreign research. According to it, people who do not pay attention to microplastics in the composition of the products used have an increased risk of bacterial, viral, microbial skin infections. Since plastic particles are introduced into the hair follicles, pores, increasing the likelihood of infection of the skin.

In Armenia, most of the plastic waste ends up in landfills, because recycling is not yet economically viable. From what is partially recyclable — glass, paper, cardboard, metals and several types of plastic. A small amount of organic matter, such as cow dung or straw, is “turned” into biohumus. Difficulties with recycling are due to poor organization of waste collection and sorting. There are waste sorting stations only in Yerevan, and they were put into operation only in February 2021.

According to the Acopian Center, in Armenia 41 private waste recycling organizations are registered: 7 of them “work” with plastic, 2 with glass, 9 recycle paper, 2 rubber, 9 organics, 9 metals, 1 methane, 2 hazardous, mainly medical waste.

In 2020, the country passed a law prohibiting the use of plastic bags less than 50 microns thick in retail outlets from January 1, 2022. With a greater thickness — they became paid. This forced citizens (of course, not all of them, since there was no general information about the advisability of such a measure) to go to the store with their bags or replace them with paper bags. In the same year, Yerevan Municipality increased the fine for littering in an unintended place to 50,000 drams (about $130-150).

In the absence of proper state regulation in the field of waste management, positive changes should begin with individual responsibility, young activist Mariam Yeghiazaryan believes. In an attempt to reduce her own ecological footprint, she develops a culture of sorting waste in her surroundings and serves as an example for colleagues at work.

She is concerned about the amount of waste in Armenia.

ГThree years ago, there were no sorting containers in Yerevan. Only a few initiatives accepted garbage. Among them is the non-governmental organization Article No. 3 Club. It built a special platform in the yard where people could put the collected waste. Mariam took hers there too.

“I stored the waste at home on the balcony, and then handed it over. It used to be that I announced a garbage day to myself and went to the city to collect bottles thrown near the trees, then washed them, sorted them and dragged them in a big bag to the place of delivery,” says Mariam.

Her bag almost always contains eco-bags for trash cans, gloves, alcohol for disinfection, food for cats and dogs. Now the activist is thinking about buying a garbage rake.
If at first her parents were surprised by her lifestyle, now they also sort waste.

“Before, one of the main topics at the New Year's table was that Mariam goes, collects someone else's garbage and brings it home, but now they have begun to discuss global warming. It makes me very happy,” she says.

The girl does the same at work, sorting plastic and paper. Colleagues discourage her, they say, it's pointless, all the same, the garbage will be unloaded at one dump. But Mariam is adamant and replies to all exhortations that she is developing the culture of waste sorting and fulfilling her duty.

Mane Voskerchyan is also trying to inspire others with her own example.

She is an international business development specialist with her own organic business and lives with her husband and two children. Mane follows the commandments she professes: she uses public transport to reduce her ecological footprint, buys clothes in second-hand stores, composts organic waste. She did not come to an eco-friendly lifestyle right away. The first thoughts about this came to her 10 years ago, when she gave birth to her first child in Delhi, India. There was a lot of talk about how polluted the local air and food is, says Mane. She admits that the changes did not become coercion, she simply realized that it was impossible otherwise.

She started by reducing her family's consumption of processed foods (sausages, chips, sweets). She began to bake cakes and cook homemade pasta, grow fruits and vegetables, at the same time introducing children to work in the garden and garden.

And in some cases, says Mane, household chemicals can be replaced with ordinary soda and vinegar She does not hesitate to update her clothes in second-hand stores, while choosing things from natural fabrics.

There are places in Yerevan where heaps of rubbish regularly accumulate. In one of these, designer Arman Manukyan decided to make a mosaic of plastic bottle caps.

For example, to create a portrait of the famous writer William Saroyan, the designer used 4,000 caps. He collects lids from containers himself, accepts them from friends and even strangers.

Now his works can be found more and more often in Yerevan. With their help, Arman is trying to draw public attention to the problem of plastic recycling.

In Armenia, the dilemma is now relevant: to recycle or produce a new product?

It happens that it is easier to produce goods from primary raw materials, because it is difficult to obtain secondary raw materials of the required degree of purification and comply with standards. For example, syringes must go through a much more complex recycling process before they can be reused. Additional heat treatment increases costs. By the way, in Austria glass bottles are not washed and reused, as in Armenia. There they are melted down and made again.

Therefore, clear laws governing this area are needed.