St Fergus substation team clear over 12 tonnes for rubbish from local beach

SSEN Transmission and their delivery partners Balfour Beatty are currently working on the North East coast at St Fergus building a new substation to replace the existing transformers, which after over 40 years of long service now needs to be replaced.

As guests in the area, while they are working, the team was keen to try and lend a helping hand and have a positive impact on the local environment. They noticed that the local beach had a lot of debris and rubbish and that it was in much need of a clean-up.

The environmental advisor working on the St Fergus Project has liaised with representatives from the ‘East Grampian Coastal Partnership’ to support their ‘Turning the Plastic Tides Campaign’ and sought their advice before setting to work.

The team set about putting in hours of hard work walking and collecting rubbish along Rattray beach. The team was taken about by the amount of rubbish they found and needed the help of a tractor to collect it all. In fact, they collected an estimated 12 tonnes, including over 70 tyres. But they aren’t stopping there. Following the success of their work at Rattray beach, the team turned their attention to Craigewan Links and Sandford Bay at Peterhead.

SSEN Transmission Project Manager, David Waddle said “It is really important on every project that we work on that we try and have a positive impact on the local area and communities. So, we are always looking for opportunities to support local projects or initiatives.  Working closely with our partner Balfour Beatty we were keen to focus on doing something as a team which would help improve the local environment”

Dave Hunter, Environmental Advisor at Balfour Beatty said: “We are committed to leaving a lasting, positive legacy in the communities in which we operate and, as such, Balfour Beatty is delighted to be working alongside East Grampian Coastal Partnership making a difference to this beautiful stretch of coastline.   

“Although saddening to see the extent to which rubbish has been washed up along Rattray beach, it has been a rewarding experience working on the Turning the Plastic Tide project. We look forward to continuing our support maintaining and preserving the environment of North-East Scotland.”

If you would like to find out more about the local project or how you can get involved in cleaning up your local beach please visit egcp.scot