Russian Popular Front activists have discovered over 50 illegal dumps in the Arctic, TASS reported, citing Andrei Nagibin, an expert of the Front's General Cleanup project, as saying at the Russian Popular Front interregional conference in the Northwestern and Central federal districts. Activists are urging the Russian Government to take action to get rid of these garbage dumps.

"The Front's interactive map of Arctic dumps received complaints about over 50 illegal dumps in the Arctic. We would ask the Russian Government to take this information into account when implementing measures of state programs to undo environmental damage in the Arctic," Nagibin said.

According to the agency, the General Cleanup project was launched in late January 2017 in connection with the start of the Year of the Environment in Russia. The project includes an online interactive map of dumps, on which people can mark the location of illegal dumps. Based on the complaints received, housing and utilities services together with Russian Popular Front activists check the information and, if necessary, take steps to clean up the identified illegal dumps.