"We expect to export and dispose of at least 8,000 [metric] tons of waste, and 1,000 tons from the Novaya Zemlya. The program is expected to last until 2025," the ministry’s Director of International Cooperation Department Nuritdin Inamov said during the 2016 Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromso, Norway.
Inamov added that Russia has been actively eliminating the damage accumulated in the Arctic from dumping sites and abandoned storages of oil materials for several years.
The collection and shipping of waste can be carried out during only up to two months a year due to challenging navigation and harsh weather conditions.
The Arctic is considered to be a major source of hydrocarbons, minerals, fresh water and fish. The region's resources are a matter of interest for the states bordering the area; the countries of the Arctic Council, including Canada, Denmark, Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, the United States and Sweden.
