Tigran Avinyan: We don`t need a new landfill, we need a waste  processing plant

ArmInfo. Yerevan is shifting its waste management strategy from burial to processing. During a city council meeting on April 6, Mayor Tigran Avinyan took a firm stance against a long-standing initiative with the European Bank  for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to build a new sanitary  landfill.

Avinyan emphasized that the Mayor's Office has a single priority: the  construction of a waste processing plant that will accept and process  the entire volume of waste coming from Yerevan and the surrounding  areas. "If this program is about  a landfill, you can stop right  there. Tell our partners that we are halting all processes - thank  you very much, we don't need anything else. I never said we needed a  new landfill," the mayor stated. According to him, the current task  of the mayor's office is to conserve the existing landfill and focus  on the construction of a recycling plant.

Sirarpi Haykazyan, Head of the Nature Protection Department at  theYerevan Municipality, noted that this landfill is part of a  national strategy that envisages five sanitary landfills in Armenia.  She also reported that a two-stage tender for the construction of a  waste recycling plant was announced in December 2025, with the  application deadline set for March 27. A total of four bids were  received, and they will be evaluated within a month. Selected  companies will then be invited to the mayor's office to present their  financial proposals and project implementation timelines.

In this regard, Avinyan urged tender participants to offer only  realistic solutions during their meetings with representatives of the  municipality. 

Recall, back in 2023, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan brought attention  to the issue of  waste disposal, calling for the complete closure of  the Nubarashen landfill, within a four year framework. A waste  processing plant is planned to be built in its place. In August 2025,  Avinyan demanded that the winning company in the tender for the  construction of the waste processing plant in Nubarashen must be  announced by the end of the year.

Noting that the Municipality's Environmental Protection Department  was responsible for this tender, Avinyan stressed the urgency of the  situation, stating that  if the matter wasn't resolved promptly, he  would have to consider appropriate personnel changes. "Because this  is the most complex and important issue for Yerevan, and we can't  afford any further delays," he stated.