The water areas of Shirak region are polluted, in particular – the reservoirs. In the rural areas household waste is dumped into water channels reaching the reservoirs through water. Crops of the neighboring villages are irrigated with the polluted water.

Armenian Caritas volunteers and inhabitants of the nearby villages took the initiative to clean up the area of Vardakar reservoir. Large amounts of household waste and plastic waste were removed from the reservoir. Vardakar reservoir provides irrigation water to 7 villages of Artik region: Nor Kyanq, Vardakar, Horom, Hovtashen, Lusakert, Saratak and Hayrenyats. Waters from the highlands reach the reservoir through water channels passing through the villages. In many villages water channels are used also for getting rid of trash and accumulated by time, it reaches up to the reservoir.

“Garbage accumulates in the areas of the reservoir mainly in spring, when the snowmelt water flows and brings whatever the residents of highland villages have thrown into the water channels. Garbage collection service is carried out in all the villages of Artik region and the municipalities should control that garbage is not dumped into the water channels, but in garbage cans. The area is mainly polluted by those living near the water channels” said Gurgen Haroyan, an agricultural specialist from Horom municipality. He presented the real danger of accumulating household waste in the reservoir. The water which irrigates the crops and vegetable gardens get polluted. This is not the only consequence of the pollution of the area.

“The main danger of garbage accumulation is that animals may eat those plastic bottles and die. There are such cases reported in the nearby villages. The area should be cleaned frequently,” Gurgen Haroyan said.

One of the reasons of environmental pollution is the lack of sorting out solid waste or recycling in Armenia. It’s a common practice in many developed countries around the world to give plastic bottles and other things a “second life”.

Almost 200 bags of trash was removed from Vardakar reservoir.

Armenian Caritas implemented the program by joining the Caritas Georgia and Caritas Europe challenge.