ARKHANGELSK, August 23. /TASS/. Volunteers of the Clean Arctic project collected on the Heiss Island (the Franz Josef Land Archipelago) 50 tonnes of waste. The project participants worked on the island for three weeks, the expedition’s leader Artyom Smolokurov told TASS.

"Over 21 days, four volunteers collected on the island 50 tonnes of waste - metal, wood, construction waste and glass," said Smolokurov, who also supervises "Together We Are Stronger" - the Ecology direction at the Arkhangelsk Region’s governor center.

The volunteers participated in a voyage onboard the Mikhail Somov research/survey vessel, which began on July 5. "At other locations, we have conducted monitoring," the expedition leader added. All the waste, collected on the Heiss Island, is packed and awaits further transportation to the mainland.

An observatory on the Heiss Island began working in 1957. In 1972, it was named after Ernst Krenkel. The polar station’s town had about 40 houses, accommodating up to 200 people at a time. In 2001, the station was closed, and in 2004 it resumed the work. The Arctic cleanup on the Island began in 2014, when volunteers cleaned big waste objects and remaining oil products.

One of the tasks, the expedition participants faced was to offer methods to clean the Arctic territories. Quite often, on polar islands heavy vehicles are not allowed as they may ruin the soil. At the same time, volunteers do not harm the soil.

The ecology expedition to clean and study the Heiss Island (the Franz Josef Land Archipelago) at the Krenkel meteorology station is implemented by the governor’s center "Together We Are Stronger" under the Clean Arctic federal project. The cleanup is supported by the Arkhangelsk Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources and by the Northern Department for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Sevhydromet).