MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. The Russian military plans to restart cleaning the Arctic in June next year to remove over 4,000 tons of metal scrap, Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said on Friday.

‘We’re resuming work from June 1 to eliminate the environmental damage done as a result of the Defense Ministry’s activity in the Arctic zone during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods," he said.

"Environmental cleaning teams will have to collect about 4,600 tons of metal scrap in 2016 and also to bring over 4,100 tons from Arctic islands to mainland Russia for disposal," the deputy defense minister said.

The Russian Defense Ministry will again establish units by mid-May 2016 for environmental damage clean-up in the Arctic, Bulgakov said.

In 2015, the Russian military cleaned 78 hectares of the Arctic area from garbage, collected 4,300 tons of metal scrap (135% of the plan), withdrew 1,800 tons and prepared another 2,500 tons for removal in 2016, the deputy defense minister said.

The Russian military’s clean-up effort in the Arctic is expected to last until 2020, he added.