MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Participants in the Clean Arctic environmental project start a mission in the Murmansk Region's Sputnik, the project's press service reported.

"Sputnik is a typical military town in the polar zone. The idea to organize cleanup missions in areas where the Special Military Operation's participants live was voiced by Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexei Chekunkov. We are happy to follow it. Now, I can see how things are changing here. There is now a beautiful embankment in the location where a landfill used to be. Houses are being renovated. It's a high dynamics. I think it was also due to us that federal money has been allocated for the upgrade of such towns," the press service quoted the project's leader Andrey Nagibin as saying.

About 30 people have participated in the cleanup. The volunteers care specially about this town and organize missions every year. Within just one day, the volunteers have collected 3 tons of waste, and the cleaning will continue for a week. Last year, volunteers worked in the town for two weeks: they collected more than 200 tons of waste, equipped garbage sites and an observation deck.

In June, the Russian government allocated 30 billion rubles ($351 million) for the development of infrastructures in the Arctic Zone's restricted-access settlements, where military units are stationed. In addition to Sputnik, volunteers from Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Pskov, Kherson, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk Regions will clean up the town of Pechenga, shores of Lake Kakkurinyarvi, the Kakkuriyoki and the Kolosjoki Rivers.

The Clean Arctic project's goal is to clean up the Arctic from waste accumulated there during the Soviet time's development. The project attracts volunteers from Russia and from other countries. Over three years, they have removed almost 12,000 tons of waste. About 6,000 people have participated in the project.