New Tariffs and Norms for Waste Collection to be Established in Armenia

We are open and ready to accept any proposals regarding our package of bills. This was stated by Gevorg Papoyan, a member of the ruling "My Step" bloc, during a discussion on September 2 in the parliamentary standing committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture, and Nature Protection, regarding the bill on "Sanitary Cleaning of Waste" and amendments to the Administrative Offenses Code.

It is proposed in the bill to set a fee for waste collection from non-residential buildings, including public and industrial buildings and facilities, based on the total area with the following tariffs:

• For buildings and constructions where public catering and household services are provided for the population, and where trade is conducted: 50-100 drams per 1 square meter;
• For hotels, providers of hotel services, and similar buildings for the population, as well as buildings and facilities aimed at providing medical services, airports, railway stations, and bus stations: 30-70 drams per 1 square meter;
• For industrial buildings and facilities: 20-50 drams per 1 square meter;
• For administrative buildings and facilities, financial organizations, and various offices: 5-20 drams per 1 square meter;
• For public buildings and buildings of scientific, educational, sports, and cultural significance, as well as barracks: 3-15 drams per 1 square meter;
• For other buildings and facilities where other types of activities are conducted: 10-30 drams per 1 square meter.

Furthermore, legal entities will also be able to pay based not on area but on the weight of the collected waste: 10,000 drams per ton. Additionally, penalties are provided for failing to dispose of waste in the necessary location. Fines for legal entities will range from 100 to 150 times the minimum wage. If the violation is repeated within a year, the fine may reach up to 200 times the minimum wage.

This package of bills has already received a positive conclusion from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture, and Nature Protection.