For more than 3 years, a unique project for photo-identification of whales has been going on at Vernadsky station: each of these animals can be distinguished from the others by…
Category: News
Modernization of Vernadsky continues - the first part of the engineering team went to the station
This season, large-scale modernization will continue at Akademik Vernadsky station: NASC began it 3 years ago, for the first time since the station was transferred to Ukraine from Britain in…
Total solar eclipse over Antarctica: Ukrainian polar explorers study a unique phenomenon
On Saturday, December 4, a total solar eclipse was observed directly over our Antarctic Akademik Vernadsky.station. This is a very rare natural phenomenon: the next one should be expected in…
RRS James Clark Ross became Noosphere and took on board the President of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky inspected the state-funded research icebreaker, which will allow our scientists to return to the study of the World Ocean and significantly improve the logistics of the Ukrainian…
Mercury, tramadol, industrial chemicals and even caffeine: scientists presented the results of the analysis of the pollutants concentrations in the flora and fauna of Antarctica
Antarctica is the most remote region in the world. However, some global chemical pollutants of human origin have already reached even this area. The most dangerous are bio-accumulative and persistent…
South Africa is interested to study Antarctica together with Ukraine using capabilities of our new vessel
Scientists from South Africa are interested in conducting joint research of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean together with our scientists, in particular, using the capabilities of the new Ukrainian research…
HORIZON 2020 project is launched, in which NASC scientists together with colleagues from other countries will study the future climate of the Polar Regions
The first meeting of the project “Polar Regions in the Earth System: the Role of Local and Regional Polar Processes in Changing the Polar Climate and the Global Climate System”…
Giant animal from the 7th century: scientists identified the age of mysterious whale skeleton near “Vernadsky” station
Maybe you remember we wrote about the studies of the rests of the mysterious whale in Antarctica? We mean the whale, whose bones for many years laid in the Rasmussen…
Minimizing tourist impact on the Argentine Islands ecosystem, Antarctic Peninsula, using visitor site guidelines approach for Vernadsky station area
How to minimize the tourist impact on the Argentine islands area – one of the most visited sites in Antarctica, where Ukrainian Antarctic Akademik Vernadsky station is located? This is…
Plastic will become a souvenir: equipment for plastic packaging waste recycling has been installed at Vernadsky station
Equipment for plastic recycling was installed at the Ukrainian Antarctic Akademik Vernadsky station with the support of Coca-Cola HBC in Ukraine: it will allow not only to reduce the amount of waste, but also to produce souvenirs for tourists. This was discussed during a press conference held today, September 8, at the UNIAN press center.
Plastic recycling at Vernadsky is extremely important, because Antarctica is a huge nature reserve. The continent has strict rules for waste management: people should not leave any garbage behind. At the station, household waste is collected separately in several fractions: metal, PET plastic (labeled 01 “plastic bottles”), HDPE plastic (labeled 02 “plastic caps, bottles of household chemicals”), glass, organic, etc. At Vernadsky, other waste (cardboard, polyethylene, and packaging) is compacted using a press, which makes it possible to reduce its volume. The compacted waste is transported by ship to Chile, where it is recycled for a lot of money. During the year, the station produces about 50 such large bags of “other garbage”, each of which weighs from 20 to 50 kg. Starting this year plastic bottles have been compacted separately. Metal and glass are removed separately in barrels.
It is important to avoid negative impact on wildlife not only from polar explorers but also from tourists. Our station is one of the most visited places in Antarctica. It is located in the maritime Antarctic, on Galindez Island, where you can, in particular, watch whales, seals, thousands of penguins. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 4,000 tourists visited the station during the short Antarctic summer.
From now on, with the financial support of Coca-Cola HBC in Ukraine, sorted plastic in Antarctica will get a second life and turn into souvenirs for tourists.
”Plastic has become a major pollutant of the World Ocean in the 21st century; microscopic fragments of plastic packaging from Europe, Asia and America are carried by currents all over the planet, and even in its purest part – Antarctica – they clog the stomachs of plankton animals, breaking food chains and leading fish, whales and penguins to starvation. Our station “Akademik Vernadsky” is visited by tourists from different countries, so who better than us can take on an educational role, explaining the “plastic threat” to people and demonstrating how each of us can reduce it”, – said Evgen Dykyi, Director of the National Antarctic Scientific Center.
At Vernadsky, a closed cycle of plastic recycling marked 02 or HDPE was created: these are mainly bottle caps and bottles for household chemicals. The system includes a plastic shredder, an extruder (where plastic melts) and a number of molds for making souvenirs.
“Coca-Cola implements the World Without Waste strategy around the world, fulfilling its commitment to packaging management. Packaging waste can now be recycled in Antarctica as well,” said Andriy Bublyk, Coca-Cola HBC Director of Public Relations and Communications in Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova.
He has also noted that the establishment of HDPE plastic processing at our station will have a significant educational effect, given the significant number of tourists that after the COVID-19 pandemic and the opening of Antarctica will bring souvenirs made at Ukrainian station around the world.
In general, the project on the improvement of separate collection of plastic and recycling of part of the sorted plastic directly at the station will help reducing human footprint on the fragile Antarctic ecosystem, enhance the image of Ukrainian station, reduce waste management costs and set a good example for others.
