Within the framework of the “Participatory Monitoring for the Creation of Smart Communities in Armenia” project, a survey of waste collection services was conducted in 6 enlarged communities of Shirak, Lori and Tavush regions (Akhuryan, Ashotsk, Tumanyan, Stepanavan, Dilijan, Noyemberyan). It was conducted by the “Compass” Scientific Research, Educational and Consulting Center NGO, in which the “NGO Center”, “Dilijan Youth Cooperation Center” and “Information Systems Development and Training Center” partner NGOs were involved through the “HamaZarK” consortium. The monitoring was carried out by about 34 trained citizen monitors from the given communities, according to a pre-developed methodology, conducting 902 face-to-face interviews and observing 249 streets. The monitoring results were summarized and analyzed, revealing the current picture in the communities in this area.
The organization of garbage collection and sanitation in the community is one of the mandatory tasks of the community according to the RA Law “On Local Self-Government”. The RA Law “On Garbage Collection and Sanitary Cleaning” also defines that garbage collection is the collection, storage, transportation and placement in a landfill of garbage generated in settlements. And sanitary cleaning is the cleaning of common areas of the community (streets, yards, sidewalks and other common areas) from garbage, piles of leaves, dust, animal carcasses and washing the roadways of the streets, cleaning streets, bridges, crossings and sidewalks from snow and ice, servicing garbage bins installed for general use in the community.
Technical equipment
The organization of garbage collection requires specialized equipment to organize the transportation of garbage to the landfill. According to the hygienic requirements set by the Ministry of Health, the garbage truck must have a closed body and exclude pollution of the environment, as well as have a sewage collection system and a hydraulic device for loading the garbage container. In addition to garbage transportation equipment, garbage collection containers and garbage cans with appropriate requirements are necessary to organize garbage collection.
The results of the study show that in enlarged communities, local self-government bodies have appropriate technical equipment mainly in cases where the center is a city. Thus, out of the 6 communities surveyed, the situation in terms of the availability of specialized garbage collection equipment is relatively good in Dilijan and Stepanavan communities, while in Ashotsk there is only one such vehicle, and in Akhuryan there is no specialized equipment at all.
Availability of garbage collection equipment in enlarged communities
The situation in the communities of Shirak region is also problematic in terms of garbage bins. The situation in terms of the number of garbage bins, as well as their capacity, is good in Dilijan and Tumanyan communities. Thus, in Tumanyan, the total capacity of garbage bins per 1000 inhabitants is 21.8 m3, while in Akhuryan the same indicator is 3.41 m3.
Capacity of garbage bins in enlarged communities
If the situation in Lori and Tavush regions can be considered satisfactory, and certain efforts to ensure technical equipment can completely correct the situation, then in Shirak region both communities surveyed need serious investments in this regard, both for the purchase of moving equipment and garbage bins.
Incomplete coverage
In Tumanyan and Dilijan communities, all settlements are provided with centralized garbage collection services. In Stepanavan community, centralized garbage collection is carried out only in Stepanavan city, but if we present it in terms of population, we can say that 93.2% of the community’s population is provided with this service. In Noyemberyan, this indicator is 97%, as garbage collection is not carried out in only one settlement, Barekamavan. The share of the population provided with centralized garbage collection is significantly lower in the communities of Shirak region. In these two communities, garbage collection is carried out only in the community centers, in the villages of Akhuryan and Ashotsk, but unlike in the village of Ashotsk, where residents are mostly satisfied with the services provided, garbage collection in Akhuryan is incomplete.
Share of population provided with centralized waste collection in enlarged communities
In settlements where the community does not provide centralized waste collection, residents dispose of waste independently, including the most common practices of burning waste, transporting it to a landfill with their own means, throwing it into water-bearing streams or rivers, dumping waste in individual landfills, and burying it in the ground.
In addition to the fact that centralized waste collection is not provided in some settlements of the communities, the distribution of the number of community-owned garbage bins among settlements is in some cases not proportional to the size of the settlement and the number of inhabitants (Lorut, Gosh). The level of satisfaction of the population with the garbage collection sector in such settlements is low.
Although it is difficult to provide centralized waste collection in some small settlements for objective reasons, it is also necessary to discuss with the residents of the community how it is more convenient for them to carry out garbage collection: using garbage bins or mobile garbage trucks, and to apply the option most preferable for the residents.
Residents’ satisfaction with the services provided
The population’s satisfaction with the services provided by the municipality in the field of garbage collection was assessed on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means completely negative, and 10 means completely positive. According to the assessment results, residents of Tumanyan and Noyemberyan communities are most satisfied with garbage collection services. Stepanavan and Dilijan communities received close to average scores for this indicator. Population satisfaction is lowest in Akhuryan and Ashotsk communities, making up 3.36 and 3.55 points out of a possible 10, respectively.
Population satisfaction with municipal services in the field of waste collection
Maintenance of standards: a problem for almost everyone
Objective indicators for the assessment of the waste collection sector were derived by combining three components: compliance with standards, which was assessed through monitoring visits, the capacity of garbage bins per 1,000 residents, and the share of the population provided with centralized waste collection.
According to the assessment results, the highest scores for objective indicators were received by Tumanyan and Dilijan communities – 9 points, followed by Noyemberyan community – 8 points and Stepanavan community – 6 points. Akhuryan and Ashotsk communities received the lowest scores – 5 points each (Table 3.1.5).
Assessment of the services provided by the municipality in the field of garbage collection according to objective indicators
There is a greater deviation between objective and subjective indicators in the Dilijan community, where the population’s satisfaction with the garbage collection sector is significantly lower, but in general, services in the field of garbage collection are available and have been assessed positively. This means that residents have higher expectations from the municipality, so it is necessary to better study the needs of residents and provide higher quality and targeted services. This difference is also large in the Tumanyan community. In the communities of Akhuryan, Ashotsk, Noyemberyan and Stepanavan, the difference between objective and subjective indicators is not large.
The regulatory requirements in the field of garbage collection are generally not observed: the installed garbage bins are mainly not isolated from the ground, are not fenced on three sides, the name and contact details of the organization carrying out garbage collection are not available on the garbage bins and garbage trucks. Meanwhile, ensuring many of the mentioned norms does not require large financial costs. The problem very often lies in the lack of awareness of community leaders or employees.
None of the centralized landfills serving the enlarged communities are fenced, do not have sanitary cleaning and washing facilities for garbage trucks.
To solve this problem, it is also necessary to provide communities with normative guidelines that will define the principles of the most fair and efficient distribution of community-owned garbage bins between different settlements that make up the community, taking into account the size of the settlement, the number of residents, the distance between households, the volume of garbage accumulated on a monthly basis, etc.
Full report
The “Participatory Monitoring for the Creation of Smart Communities in Armenia” project is implemented with the funding of the European Union within the framework of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” sub-grant implemented by the “Armenian Lawyers Association” NGO.