Video: Sewage filters keep washing up from Ellon to Newburgh — here’s why

By Kieran Beattie and Blair Dingwall

January 31 2023, 5:00 pm

Thousands of plastic sewage filters were dislodged from the Ellon Waste Water Treatment Works in November, and have been turning up along the River Ythan all the way to Newburgh ever since. Our investigative video reveals the true extent of the pollution.

Plastic filters used to treat sewage keep washing up from Ellon to Newburgh — two months on from a major pollution incident.

During severe flooding last November, vast numbers of the tiny filters were dislodged from the Ellon Waste Water Treatment Works and entered the environment.

Although Scottish Water has carried out significant clean-up work, we found that the tiny objects are still turning up everywhere downstream along the River Ythan from their sewage works.

This map shows the full extent of the pollution, from the Ellon Waste Water Treatment Works, down the River Ythan to Newburgh Beach, the Forvie National Nature Reserve and the Ythan Estuary. Image: DC Thomson

At the riverbank in Ellon, you can see them riddling the riverside plants near the Meadows Sports Centre.

At first glance, they blend into the other colours of the riverbank, but look closely and you can see the tiny filters covering the riverside here in Ellon, just next to Meadows Way and the Meadows Sports Centre. Image: Blair Dingwall/DC Thomson

At Newburgh beach, which is home to seals, terns, eider ducks and other wildlife, they are turning up by the thousand along the high tide line, tangled in amongst the flotsam.

Volunteer efforts led by the Turning the Plastic Tide group has resulted in more than 14,000 of the plastic filters being safely collected by hand and taken out of the Aberdeenshire environment since November.

Lauren Smith, from Turning the Plastic Tide, showing just some of the thousands of filters she and volunteers have collected at Newburgh Beach. Image: Blair Dingwall/DC Thomson

But Scottish Water is being asked to step up its efforts to clean up the mess.

Watch our full video to see the full extent of the plastic sewage problem affecting Ellon and Newburgh.

Newburgh local Jay Cresswell (left) and north-east bird recorder Ian Broadbent at the Ythan Estuary, where they have come across huge numbers of the filters. Ian has called on Scottish Water to ramp up its response to the pollution from its sewage works. Image: Blair Dingwall/DC Thomson

Scottish Water apologises and says further clean-up operations are planned for Newburgh and Ellon pollution issue

The filters have been washing up at Newburgh Beach, home to a famous population of seals. There are concerns the seals could end up ingesting the plastic. Image: Blair Dingwall/DC Thomson

Scottish Water has carried out a lot of work to address the issue, including a two-mile clean up of both sides of the Ythan Estuary which involved quad bikes and tractors to collect as much of the plastic filters as possible.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Water said “severe flooding” at their Ellon Waste Water Treatment Works in November “regrettably saw the release of bio-filters into the River Ythan”.

She continued: “We launched an extensive clean-up operation along several kilometres of the coastline, involving almost two dozen colleagues and contractors.

“Regular checks are still being carried out across the affected area and a further clean-up along the riverbank and nature reserve is planned.

“As a further mitigation, we have taken steps to review our operations on-site — including additional screens and the installation of sensors — to minimise the risk of recurrence.

“We take our environmental responsibilities seriously and have engaged fully with our environmental regulator, Sepa, through established processes.

“We apologise once more for the concern caused by the incident.”