5.3 Million Euros for Hazardous Waste Management: Mayor and EU Ambassador Sign Memorandum

The Mayor of Yerevan, Hayk Marutyan, and the head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, have signed a memorandum of understanding.

This information was provided by the information and public relations department of the Yerevan municipality. The official signing ceremony was attended by Vasilis Maragos, the head of the Eastern Partnership Division of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, along with several high-ranking officials arriving from Brussels.

On December 17, 2019, a grant agreement was signed between the Yerevan municipality and the European Union titled “Collaboration of Yerevan, Warsaw, and Tirana on Common Challenges in Hazardous Waste Management” (NEAR-TS/2019/412-943). The main aim of this agreement is to implement a new and effective system for hazardous waste management through systematic reforms in urban governance.

The project will allow for the enhancement of new and modern institutional and professional capacities in the field of hazardous waste management, facilitating the integration of structural compliance in related sectors, as well as the development of relevant procedures and their integration into urban governance structures. The total budget for the project is €5,326,377.

By the end of the project, it is expected that there will be definitive solutions for all types of hazardous waste in Yerevan, either through waste detoxification or safe storage.

During the signing ceremony, Mayor Hayk Marutyan emphasized that Yerevan submitted a competitive bid to participate in the program and won the competition, indicating that the current policies of the Armenian capital in hazardous waste management are fully in line with EU principles.

“The community of Yerevan has significant gaps in hazardous waste management; quite simply, the community has never engaged deeply with this issue. We have a long way to go in solving complex problems associated with this sector. In 2019, we managed to create from scratch, in a very short time, the ‘Yerevan Waste Collection and Sanitary Cleaning Organization,’ which is now fully operational. This January, the ‘Yerevan Greening and Environmental Management Organization’ was established. We are taking steps toward the organization of separate waste collection,” said Mayor Hayk Marutyan.

The Mayor also noted that Yerevan has completed all possible preparatory work concerning the commitments laid out in the hazardous waste management program, allowing for the efficient initiation of the work stipulated by the program.

All of the aforementioned results will be ensured through close cooperation with Tirana and Warsaw, as outlined in the project proposal. Before the signing ceremony, Hayk Marutyan met with Vasilis Maragos to discuss the importance of cooperation between Yerevan and EU structures in several environmental, urban planning, and social sectors.

In particular, Hayk Marutyan highlighted that one of the main challenges for Yerevan is the reform of public transport, which includes significant environmental and social components. He mentioned that Yerevan is preparing to adopt “green” transport and expects support from international partners, including the EU and its structures, in this endeavor.

For his part, Vasilis Maragos noted that EU structures are committed to assisting partner countries in creating a safe and prosperous environment for their populations and are ready to discuss the terms of cooperation in specific sectors.