Wet wipe island has 'changed the course of the Thames' as government considers ban
27 June 2022, 08:36
A metre-high mass of wet wipes on the banks of the Thames near Hammersmith, west London, has grown to the size of two tennis courts, according to sonar and laser scans of the riverbed.
The Government is considering a ban on wet wipes containing plastic in a bid to cut the pollution caused by them being flushed down the lavatory.
The huge blockage near Hammersmith is worsening by the day, and the situation has become so bad that it has spurred MPs to advise people against flushing the wipes down the toilet.
The mound is located on the bank near Barnes, in the section of the Thames that runs through Hammersmith, laser images from charity Thames 21 released last year show.
Labour MP Fleur Anderson said: “There’s an island the size of two tennis courts and I’ve been and stood on it.”
Speaking in the House of Commons, she continued: “It’s near Hammersmith Bridge in the Thames and it’s a metre deep or more in places of just wet wipes.
“It’s actually changed the course of the Thames.”
