‘We Are a Disgrace Worldwide, Tourists Immediately Take Photos of Garbage’: Karine Danielyan

‘Poor waste management can lead to numerous ecological problems. The most dangerous are the epigenetics that can arise, as a result of waste, insects and microbes develop that cause various types of diseases. The second issue is the foul odor, and the third is that in certain areas burning occurs, which contaminates the air basin with toxic substances,’ said environmentalist Karine Danielyan in an interview with Tert.am.

According to her, in many countries, there is a culture of incinerating waste, but this is done under very high-temperature conditions so that toxic substances do not emerge but decompose. In our country, if citizens attempt to eliminate trash through such means, it will cause significant harm to the atmosphere.

‘We should have long transitioned to waste sorting and processing. Months ago, an Armenian businessman from Moscow reached out to me to organize waste recycling here. He has applied to all the relevant authorities for a long time. They have not provided him with a space nor allowed him to work,’ Danielyan said.

She also emphasized that as it stands, with the tourist season ongoing, visitors to our country are first confronted with piles of garbage. ‘A taxi driver told me that he transports tourists, and as soon as they enter the city and see the garbage, they immediately start taking photos. We are a disgrace worldwide,’ the environmentalist noted.

Danielyan emphasized that in this crisis situation, rapid solutions are needed. For example, the European Union aims for 0 waste. There are countries, like Finland and other Baltic nations, where the percentage of landfill waste has decreased to 1 or 2 percent. ‘This is not happening in Armenia due to the lack of ecological culture. We have a barbaric conception of the environment. There are separate youth who fight for this, but sometimes I also witness astonishing phenomena. Environmental issues for us are always at the last point,’ concluded Karine Danielyan.