Authorities say the fires affecting some five hectares in the landfill territory were caused by extreme heat that reached 40 degrees Cesium in Yerevan during the first 10 days of August.
Vahe Vardapetian, the acting director of the company managing the landfill, said glass fragments must have triggered the initial ignitions, while large amounts of methane gas that had accumulated beneath the waste fueled the further spread of the fire.
He said that in recent days, seven firefighting vehicles were involved in the efforts, with 30 fire crews working in shifts to contain and extinguish the flames. A total of 30 municipal dump trucks and loaders have been transporting soil to prevent further flare-ups, the company official added.
“About 500 tons of water have been delivered to fight the fire. There are no flames at the moment – only some smoldering hotspots. Right now, soil is being spread over the area,” Vardapetian said on Monday.
The smoke that has spread across parts of the city has forced many local residents to stay indoors or wear masks to avoid inhaling toxic gases.
“You could choke to death if you didn’t protect yourself,” one disgruntled resident of Nubarashen, the Yerevan district closest to the landfill, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Some residents, who lack air conditioning in their homes, also complained about sleepless nights due to the heat and the suffocating air.
This is not the first time the Nubarashen landfill has caught fire. Locals say incidents of varying intensity occur every summer.
“It’s a very terrible situation. We’re barely holding on during days like this,” another resident complained.
Residents of Erebuni, another district adjacent to the landfill, have also reported heavy smoke and what many described as an unbearable stench in their neighborhoods.
Formed in the 1950s, the landfill is considered the largest in Armenia, spanning more than 52 hectares. Over 300,000 tons of waste are dumped there annually, including hazardous materials such as batteries, mercury thermometers, and electronic equipment. Environmentalists note that the landfill does not comply with any international standards: waste is not sorted, and the site remains unfenced and open.
Scientific studies confirm that burning waste at landfills like Nubarashen releases heavy metals and gases that can cause respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancer-related illnesses, and some toxic substances can linger even after the smoke and smell have dissipated.
Residents of Nubarashen, who experience the health effects firsthand, say they often hear city authorities promise that the landfill will be shut down and replaced with a modern waste processing facility with proper waste sorting capabilities.
Yerevan mayor Tigran Avinian and his political team had pledged to decommission the landfill and begin construction of a modern replacement in 2024, one that meets international standards. However, the signing of the construction agreement has been postponed several times.