Publication date 11.3.2025 12.19| Published in English on 8.4.2025 at 14.50
Type:Press release
Länsi-Uusimaa
The collection of grease pellets discovered in Hanko at the end of January has been completed. All known occurrences on the mainland and the surrounding islands have been inspected and cleaned.
Similarly, isolated observations in Raseborg, including the Ekenäs Archipelago National Park area, have been surveyed and addressed.
The first signs of the environmental incident were reported on January 26. The Western Uusimaa Rescue Department took over general command of the situation and assembled a wide-ranging cooperation group to investigate and manage the issue. Participants included the cities of Hanko and Raseborg, WWF, Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland, the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), and Neste Oyj.
Since January, all involved parties have worked in active cooperation. Local volunteer fire departments also participated in the early stages of situational assessment and logistics.
Greasecollected through joint efforts
The grease, originating from a single marine transport by Neste, was collected during February and March, amounting to approximately 25,000 kg. The collection efforts involved the City of Hanko, Neste—using equipment and personnel procured from Lassila & Tikanoja—as well as a large number of volunteers coordinated through WWF. Additionally, Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland removed isolated findings from their protected areas.
The City of Hanko, WWF and Neste would like to warmly thank everyone who contributed to the cleanup, whether through volunteer work or as part of their job.
“The strong will of the people to work together to clean our shores has been truly uplifting,” said Petra Ståhl, Mayor of Hanko.
“Together we were able to clean the beaches during the spring, which was our shared goal,” added Hannele Jakosuo-Jansson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Safety at Neste.
The cleanup of Hanko’s beaches has demonstrated the power of volunteer work—and the human desire to help.
“The efforts of WWF’s volunteer groups amounted to nearly 300 person-days in total,” said Vanessa Ryan, Marine Expert at WWF Finland.
The collection work also provided valuable experience with various cleanup methods and technologies suitable for shoreline decontamination.
“This incident has been an excellent training opportunity in case of a larger-scale oil spill. We’ve been able to test how multi-agency cooperation works between cities and volunteer groups,” said Clas Tallberg, Duty Officer at the Western Uusimaa Rescue Department.
Individual grease pellets to mixed waste
Although the beaches have been cleaned, small individual grease pellets may still be found. If you come across any, you can safely collect and dispose of them with mixed household waste.
At this stage, we ask that only significantly larger findings be reported to local environmental authorities:
Hanko: Environmental Protection Manager Maria Degerlund – maria.degerlund@hanko.fi
Raseborg: Environmental Manager Maria Eriksson – maria.m.eriksson@raseborg.fi
