Clean Arctic Volunteers Collected More than 3,000 Tons of Waste in 2021

Restoring the Arctic nature, removal of garbage and reclamation of dump sites are among top policy priorities in the Russian Arctic. Clean Arctic, a project jointly implemented by volunteers, big business and local, regional and federal authorities, is an important part of the restoration effort.

A series of sessions held by the Far East and Arctic Ministry chaired by Minister Chekunkov summed up the project’s interim results. These are rather impressive, with volunteers having collected more than 3,000 tons of waste such as used oil barrels, tires, plastic, and wood. More than 2,200 people have already joined this initiative, while 3,000 more have applied for participation in 2022.

Below is the summary of reports submitted by Russian Arctic regions:

• In Arkhangelsk Oblast, volunteers have cleaned up the Novodvinsk Fortress area. An expedition to the Novaya Zemlia archipelago has collected and removed some 215 tons of scrap metal.

• In Murmansk Oblast, 50 tons of MSW were removed. After cleaning up a coastal area in the vicinity of Murmansk, the so-called Arctic Beach was created. This public space will host a sea festival in future.

• In Yamal, more than 70 hectares on the Beliy Island and about 132 hectares on the Vilkitsky Island were cleaned up. A total of at least 2,100 tons of metal scrap have been collected on both islands located in the Kara Sea.

• In the Nenets Autonomous District, volunteers have cleaned up a 1.5-kilometer-long coastal strip, having removed more than 20 tons of waste.

• As part of an effort to restore the Tiksi village area, Yakut Republic, about 300 tons of scrap metal have been collected. Work is underway to recultivate the tailing storage site of the decommissioned Kular Gold Plant.

• In Krasnoyarsk Kray, some 57 illegal dump sites have been reported, with 53 of them having been scheduled for a cleanup. Volunteers removed garbage from several coastal areas of the Yenisei River, Lake Dolgoe, and Pshenichny Creek. In addition, 44 tons of scrap metal have been collected in Taymyr, and an area of some 44,000 square meters has been cleaned up.

• A number of illegal dump sites have been identified in the vicinity of Usinsk and Vorkuta, Komi Republic. The garbage from the sites in question is to be removed by the end of the year.

• In Karelia, a team of volunteers has created a tourist trail at the Paanajarvi National Park and cleaned up an area adjacent to the Belomorsk Petroglyphs Excavation Site. A large landfill site has been cleaned up, with some 50 tons of SMW removed from the area.

• In Chukotka, about 500 tons of metal scrap were collected. Overall, regional authorities believe that by the year’s end, some 4,000 tons of metal scrap will be taken to the mainland for smelting.

Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.