09/04/2026
♻️ 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐔𝐏! | 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚
Armenia’s transition to a circular economy is no longer just a long-term vision — 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬.
The study “𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢”, funded by the European Union and led by Impact Hub Yerevan, Impact Hub Network, and the Environment and Health NGO, was implemented jointly with Ameria Management Advisory and Modex.
The work unfolded in three interconnected phases. It began with sector prioritisation, where five sectors - 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 - were selected based on their circular economy potential. This was followed by an in-depth Value Chain Analysis, which mapped material flows, identified circularity gaps, engaged key stakeholders, and benchmarked international practices. Building on these findings, the final phase focused on Economic Impact Assessment, where priority interventions were selected for each sector and modelled under realistic Moderate and Advanced scenarios, translating physical changes into measurable economic outcomes, including gross output, value added, employment, import substitution, and fiscal revenues.
🔍 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬:
🧵 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬
The primary constraint in the textile sector is not processing capacity, but the absence of organised collection and aggregation systems. Significant volumes of textile waste remain fragmented across HoReCa and institutional sources, preventing the achievement of scale required for viable recycling operations. Establishing structured collection channels would enable the diversion of over 1,000 tonnes annually and unlock existing recycling capacity, resulting in a financially sustainable model with a 3–4-year payback period.
🧴 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬
In plastics packaging, the most immediate opportunity lies in material efficiency. PET lightweighting represents a low-risk intervention that can reduce polymer consumption by more than 2,000 tonnes annually, generating approximately $2.6M in cost savings. The key requirement is not new infrastructure, but coordinated action across producers to standardise design optimisation and align with regulatory incentives.
🚗 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬
The end-of-life vehicle sector is already active but largely informal, limiting value recovery and transparency. Transitioning towards a formalised system of collection, dismantling, and recycling would significantly increase recovery rates and fiscal capture. Importantly, this shift requires relatively limited additional investment and can deliver immediate economic returns through improved material recovery and reduced reliance on imports.
🐟 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡
Fish processing generates by-products that are currently underutilised despite having established market demand in the form of fishmeal and fish oil. At sufficient scale, conversion of these waste streams is commercially viable, with a projected payback period of 4–5 years. Developing dedicated processing capacity would allow Armenia to substitute imports while creating a stable, value-added product stream.
🍇 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
Grape pomace represents one of the most significant untapped biomass streams in Armenia. With an estimated volume of 53,000–66,000 tonnes annually, it offers multiple valorisation pathways, including bio-compound extraction, feed production, composting, and energy recovery. Under an advanced scenario, integrated utilisation of this resource can generate up to ~$21M in annual output, with high-value derivatives such as grape seed oil driving export potential. The priority is to establish coordinated processing models that enable efficient allocation of biomass across these competing, but complementary, pathways.
📌 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞
Circular economy in Armenia is not a separate phenomenon — it is a more efficient and resilient way of running existing industries. The five sectors analysed already have the infrastructure, the waste streams, and in several cases the market demand. What is needed now are the right regulatory frameworks, coordination mechanisms, and sequenced investments to unlock value that is currently lost.
Armenia does not need to wait for a fully developed circular economy system to begin. Targeted, sector-specific interventions can already deliver measurable economic, environmental, and fiscal benefits.
🔗 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭:https://yerevan.impacthub.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Study-Report_Inclusive-Circular-Economy-For-Armenia_FINAL.docx.pdf
🔗 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭:https://yerevan.impacthub.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/VALUE-CHAIN-ANALYSIS-%E2%80%93-Final-Report.pdf
𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤!