According to Vadim Serga, chief of the Northern Fleet's press service, the fleet's environmental protection unit has arrived on Kotelny Island to clean up waste, RIA Novosti reported.

"Thirty army servicemen of the Northern Fleet's logistics support environmental protection unit will continue clearing the Arctic island of barrels and other garbage that were stockpiled there during Soviet times," Serga said. Over 600 metric tons of trash were delivered to the mainland for disposal last season.

Last summer, there were over 120,000 metal 200 liter barrels on the island used for storing and transporting fuel and lubricants in Soviet times.