Circular Economy in Armenia will not achieve anywhere near its full potential without the right policy instruments in place. This is the firm belief of Harutyun Alpetyan, Program Manager and Lecturer at the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment and a member of the Armenian Circular Economy Coalition (ACEC). He elaborated his vision for the development of circularity in Armenia during a conversation with Regional Post.
“With government support at that level, no wonder they have advanced so much.” This is one of the common reactions in Armenia when inspiring examples in Circular Economy are presented from countries like the Netherlands.
While it is possible that certain actions can be taken at the grassroots level to promote circularity in Armenia, true ecosystem building cannot take place without giving policymakers a prominent seat at the table.
This is the point of view shared by a member of the Policy Working Group of the ACEC, Harutyun Alpetyan, who is a leading waste management expert in Armenia and a lecturer at the American University of Armenia. In his words, there are three key ingredients to the development of Circular Economy—policy, infrastructure, and behavior. The latter actually directly depends on the first two factors.
Focusing on policy, Harutyun sees both the progress that has been made so far in terms of relevant legislation in Armenia and the areas that continue to be weak.
“Energy is where we have advanced the most, even though one could say this is indirectly related to Circular Economy. The liberalization of the market, the incentives that have been directed at solar energy, the feed-in tariffs—all this has had a real impact on the ground, and it influences the way people behave, so it is relevant to circularity,” he says. He noted that another big step in the right direction had taken place two years ago, when legislation made water recirculation mandatory in fish farms.
In more recent developments, Armenia adopted a Green Taxonomy in the summer of 2025, which defines which economic activities can be considered green and which cannot. Although the impact of this regulation is not yet clear, there is hope that the availability of green funding will boost activities that promote circularity and discourage those that do not.
While these recent developments are heartening, there are still many shortcomings when it comes to policymaking on Circular Economy in Armenia.
Harutyun believes that one of the weakest areas is waste management, and a big milestone ahead on this topic will be legislation on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). “When it comes to EPR, we are talking about finding solutions for managing waste from things like packaging, batteries, electronic equipment, car tires, oils, filters, and more. It is difficult at the moment to estimate the numbers in terms of how material flow will change, but EPR legislation should result in a big boost to recycling in Armenia. It is expected to include specific recycling targets, which producers will then have to meet,” Harutyun explains. In terms of a realistic timeline, he expects the National Assembly to debate and adopt legislation on EPR in 2026, with the law coming into effect in 2027 and the first results visible in 2028.
Harutyun also flags another key topic for Circular Economy, where policymaking is weak—biogas production. “When it comes to industries with organic waste, biogas is one of the most circular solutions one can have. We are talking about millions of tons of organic waste every year that we are simply dumping, which is both harmful to the environment and represents a missed economic opportunity,” he says.
With the right infrastructure and policies, organic waste could be processed to produce biomethane, organic fertilizer, and carbon dioxide gas. All three of these products can then be used, providing a triple boost to Armenia’s performance through sustainable energy, sustainable waste management, and sustainable greenhouses. “Did you know that many greenhouses burn fuel today, even in the summer heat, to produce the carbon dioxide that they need?
Developing biogas would leapfrog Armenia into circularity and raise the country’s profile internationally when it comes to meeting our commitments on environmental protection,” Harutyun states.
In his opinion, the biggest problem standing in the way of circularity can be put into very simple terms – as long as the option of cheap or free illegal dumping remains, there is no way for waste management and Circular Economy to achieve their full potential in the country.
“Whether we are talking about small and medium enterprises or large corporations, there is a simple truth to business—the cheapest option is always the one that is chosen. If there is no cost to dumping, then this is the option that businesses will choose,” he explains. The role of state institutions is two-fold—to make biogas development economically viable and to enforce regulations against dumping. Biogas is qualitatively a better source for Armenia’s energy security than solar power, he says, but it cannot be economically viable without the right enabling environment in place. Meanwhile, enforcement is a crucial aspect, and neglecting it comes at a big cost.
“Cattle in Armenia produce around five million tons of manure every year, and around 90 percent of this is dumped into rivers, valleys, and elsewhere. Some European countries have calculated that dumping one ton of manure into rivers costs society around 50 Euros, so we are looking here at an annual cost to our country of more than 200 million Euros! Not to mention all the missed benefits that would come if that manure had been processed through a biogas plant,” he adds.
When it comes to encouraging the private sector to adopt Circular Economy principles, Harutyun says that profit, whether through cost savings or opportunities for new income, is the only real motivating factor. He appreciates the awareness-raising and training components of Impact Hub Yerevan’s CirculUp! project because some businesses might simply be unaware of the business opportunities that lie before them in terms of circularity.
But most businesses always look at their value chain to figure out where they are making or losing money, and this is what the right policies must tweak to encourage impactful behavior. Harutyun illustrates this with a recent example from his own experience. “Someone had seen me speaking about waste management on television and asked me a question. He was growing mushrooms and would sell the used sacks to someone else instead of disposing of them in a landfill. Now, his buyer had said he would no longer pay the regular price, and it had suddenly become cheaper for the man to dump his used sacks in the trash, which has serious environmental consequences. He wanted to know if I could connect him to another buyer. His value chain had changed, and his instinct as an entrepreneur would be to go for the cheaper option of dumping unless he could find someone to buy his waste at the right price. This is why it is crucial to enforce regulation on dumping and add a price tag to it – it would change the equation completely and make proper waste management much more economically attractive than dumping,” Harutyun elaborates.
The CirculUp! Project has set some wheels in motion in terms of developing policies in Armenia that would promote circularity. The creation of the Armenian Circular Economy Coalition (ACEC ) is a key component of the project and aims to sustain this work beyond the project’s lifetime. “I’m optimistic that the Coalition will keep working in this area because this is relevant to the work that each of us in the ACEC does individually, in our professional spheres,” Harutyun explains, “I don’t know whether the structure will be formalized in some way in the future, but I definitely see potential for support from the private sector or other stakeholders to keep this important work going.
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