MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. The Arktikugol Trust Company expects more metal waste will be removed from Spitsbergen in 2026 due to involvement of the Clean Arctic project's volunteers and additional equipment, the company's Director General Ildar Neverov told TASS.
"As we have seen, when complex objects like heating mains in wooden boxes are dismantled, about 300 tons of scrap metal may be removed within one navigation season," he said. "This year, due to additional equipment and more efficient work process, we expect this amount will increase significantly within this navigation," he said.
Over decades of the archipelago's intensive development, especially during the Soviet period, Spitsbergen has accumulated a significant amount of facilities that have been decommissioned and require dismantling, he added.
"The Arktikugol Trust Company has been working to eliminate accumulated environmental damage. We annually clean up Russian settlements on the archipelago using force of our construction and installation department and the corporate volunteer movement. At the same time, the involvement of the Clean Arctic project's volunteers will speed up this work and expand environmental activities," he said.
