Yerevan often tops the list of cities with the most polluted air in the Armenian country. The main reasons, according to the Center for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Ministry of the Environment, are massive construction projects in the capital in recent years, the growing volume of the mining industry and the open burning of landfills.

Air pollution in the city was especially talked about after the big explosion in the Surmalu shopping center, which occurred on August 14, 2022. The tragic event, which claimed the lives of 16 people, posed a danger not only to the firefighters who carried out the rescue work, but also to people living nearby. The goods sold at Surmalu were dominated by various types of plastic and explosive materials (fireworks, crackers, and others). According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, about 4 tons of explosives were blown up there. After the explosion, nitrogen and sulfur dioxide got into the air, which, a few days after the fire, were carried by the wind along with dust to other districts of Yerevan.

Even after a while, according to experts, it has not disappeared anywhere. Until now, in Yerevan, almost daily dust density exceeds the norm up to 3 times.

Burning household and plant waste is an extremely common practice in Armenia. Flying over the country on an airplane, you can see columns of smoke rising into the air everywhere. It is the residents who burn garbage in their backyards.

Waste disposal by incineration has been discussed, without exaggeration, for decades, and the issue is still open. Most often, household waste is burnt in the open air, and not in specially designed ovens. As a result, harmful substances are completely released into the atmospheric air. Plus, landfills often ignite spontaneously due to high temperatures, which further exacerbates the problem.

When a person inhales, they may experience irritation in the eyes and nose, breathing problems, coughing and headaches.

“People with heart diseases, asthma, emphysema or other respiratory conditions are especially sensitive to air pollutants. They can also worsen lung infections, pneumonia, bronchitis and allergies,” the specialist lists.

The problem of garbage pollution for public health, according to David Melik-Nubaryan, is “burning”, as toxic atmospheric air is the second most common risk factor for the development of non-communicable diseases.

In Armenia, mortality due to polluted ais is 114.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In Ukraine, this figure is 163.2 cases per 100,000 people, in Moldova — 98.45, in Belarus — 138.2. If we compare them with the data in the EU countries, the picture becomes extremely alarming.

Nubarashen city landfill is the largest in Armenia, its area is 32 hectares. About 1,800 tons of garbage arrive there per day, about 600,000 tons per year. It is considered exemplary in the republic, despite the fact that they do nothing but neutralize and burn compressed waste. Recently, 70% of the landfill surface was covered with a two-meter layer of earth for the first time. But even after that, it has not ceased to be one of the main environmental problems of the capital: poisonous gases resulting from the accumulation of garbage continue to poison the atmosphere, and methane is still the main cause of fires.

According to Karen Sargsyan, director of ZAO Yerevan City New Waste Collector, toxic gases are pumped through pipes laid through the territory of the Nubarashen landfill to the station and completely burned, excluding the release of hazardous substances into the environment. And although in many countries the collected gas is used to generate electricity, Armenia does not yet have such an opportunity. The Yerevan authorities see the solution to the problem in the construction of a new solid waste landfill.

Decomposing waste in a landfill leads to the formation of harmful greenhouse gases. They rise into the atmosphere and retain heat, warming the planet. This causes extreme weather events in the form of storms and typhoons, acid rain, severe hailstorms. And when burning paper and plastic in the trash landfill gas rises. The carbon dioxide released from it, together with methane, accumulates in the ozone layer, thus playing significant role in global warming.

Also the impact of food waste on climate change should not be underestimated. When food ends up in a landfill, it decomposes without access to oxygen, which also releases methane. More than 2.5 billion tons of food annually remain uneaten, which is about 40% of all food produced. According to recent studies, food waste on the planet is the source of 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Burning, decomposition in the open air or simply throwing garbage is dangerous not only for humans, but also for any living organisms and wildlife. For example, a link has been established between acid rain and breathing difficulties in fish, air pollution and damage to the immune system in amphibians, changes in their physiology and behavior, not to mention changes in plant composition.

Garbage pollution leads to total air poisoning, changes the climate and causes many serious diseases in humans and animals. This problem knows no bounds. It doesn’t matter if the country is big or small, far or near. We are all in the same boat.