To build a highly effective foundation for the DRS, Environment Group first assessed the environmental risks posed by unmanaged packaging waste and the broader socio-economic impacts associated with the system’s adoption. This rigorous evaluation analyzed critical local factors, including projected job creation, tariff impacts, consumer affordability, and potential effects on the informal waste sector. Following this baseline assessment, our team developed detailed waste sector studies. A central component of this was a comparative legal review that evaluated Armenia’s existing waste governance framework against the laws of key EU Member States – specifically Lithuania, Germany, Estonia, and Finland. This comparative approach allowed us to clearly highlight the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within Armenia’s current regulatory environment.

Building upon the legal review, Environment Group prepared comprehensive technical design and implementation guidelines for the DRS, ensuring strict alignment with EU directives and international waste governance standards. These guidelines mapped out the essential operational mechanics of the system, including reporting procedures, collection infrastructure such as reverse vending machines and manual return points, and the management of complex financial flows involving deposit fees, unclaimed deposits, and handling fees. By explicitly leveraging practical operational lessons from Lithuania’s successful Deposit System Administrator (USAD), our experts were able to intelligently adapt proven European methodologies to Armenia’s unique legal and socio-economic realities, ensuring the proposed system is both ambitious and highly achievable.