Clean-up in the Russian Arctic

A new stage of the project to clean up the Arctic zone of Russia from man-made pollution called “Arctic. Spring-cleaning. Krasnoyarsk Territory” has begun, the Russian Geographical society (RGS) reports on its website.

The clean-up will focus on Khatanga – a rural settlement in the north of the Krasnoyarsk region. It is home to the Arctic port which accepts various Arctic cargo shipments.

“Khatanga… is a settlement with a unique history, nature, and cultural heritage…It is the Russian gateway to the North Pole. Our task is to… positively present the Krasnoyarsk region to the whole country. It is important that our expedition involves volunteers, scientists, bloggers, and historians from all over Russia. We intend to show that the Russian Arctic is worthy of new development,” Igor Spiridenko, chairman of the Krasnoyarsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society is quoted as saying. 

Activists clean the Arctic regions of Russia. Photo: Rgo.ru

The project to clean the area around Khatanga started in 2023. The participants report that last year volunteers cleaned more than 200 tons of man-made waste along the 3 km of the coastline, the RGS website reports. The waste has been accumulating there since the Soviet times.

The waste has been accumulating in the Russian Arctic for decades. Photo: Rgo.ru

This is part of a bigger mission to clean the Arctic from massive industrial waste. An interactive map has even been created where activists can exchange the exact locations and the amount of work that needs to be done.