Since the beginning of the year, the Defense Ministry' units have prepared over 3,000 metric tons of scrap metal  to be removed from the Arctic, Deputy Defense Minister, General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov said in an interview with TASS news agency.

"This year, the work is carried out at four sites — the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, Kotelny and Wrangel islands and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Environmental cleanup units of the Defense Ministry collected and prepared for removal from the Arctic over 3,000 metric tons of scrap metal. In total, over 4,500 metric tons of scrap metal is expected to be removed and over 71 hectares are to be cleaned this year," he said.

In early July, he said that the environmental units collected and prepared for removal about 1,300 metric tons of scrap metal.

Bulgakov also said that over 190,000 metric tons of materials will be delivered to launch the construction of the Defense Ministry's facilities on Alexandra Land, Kotelny, Wrangel and Sredny islands, Cape Schmidt, in the town of Rogachyovo and in the village of Tiksi. On the way back, the ships will pick up compressed scrap metal and solid waste for further recycling on the mainland.