114 tonnes of wet wipes and river debris removed from Thames 'wet wipe island'

A three-week clearance of a 250-metre stretch of foreshore on the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge has removed 114 tonnes of congealed waste, including an estimated five million wet wipes, authorities said Thursday.

The Port of London Authority (PLA) led the operation in partnership with volunteer group Thames21 and water company Thames Water. Dredging that began on Aug. 11 used two eight-tonne excavators to scoop natural sediment and build-ups of sanitary and other debris from the riverbed and banks.

The material removed included almost 200 cubic metres of wet wipes that contain plastic, along with towels, scarves, trousers, a car engine timing belt and a set of false teeth, the PLA said. The accumulation, described by campaigners as a "wet wipe island," was up to one metre deep in places and about the size of two tennis courts; officials said it had the potential to alter the local flow of the river and harm aquatic wildlife.

Grace Rawnsley, the PLA's director of sustainability, said the authority reinvests its revenue into the river and communities and was "pleased to have finally been able to clear this stretch of the Thames." She said the public reaction had been "encouraging but also slightly incredulous that this work was needed in the first place."

Chris Coode, chief executive of Thames21, said the removal was "a crucial step" to protect the health of the River Thames and reduce the introduction of microplastics from the site. Thames21 has monitored the build-up and campaigned for removal for eight years, the group said.

Thames Water's John Sullivan called the estimate of five million wipes "staggering" and warned that wet wipes containing plastic should not be flushed. "Blockages caused by wipes are a leading cause of pollution and we remove an estimated 3.8 billion wipes from our network each year," he said.

The removed material was taken away in skips and sent to landfill, the PLA said. Local volunteers and campaigners had raised concerns about the site for years, documenting the accumulation and its potential ecological impacts.

Campaigners have urged wider changes to prevent similar deposits in the future, including manufacturers shifting to plastic-free alternatives and greater investment in sewage and wastewater infrastructure. The government published draft legislation earlier this year proposing a ban on wet wipes that contain plastic; local MP Fleur Anderson welcomed the move and said it would help prevent future wet wipe islands.

Environmental scientists and campaign groups have warned that wet wipes and other sanitary products that contain plastics fragment into microplastics, which can persist in aquatic environments and be ingested by wildlife. The PLA and its partners said the removal work was intended to reduce local microplastic inputs and improve habitat conditions along the foreshore.

The PLA said the project required months of planning, including assessments of how to remove the material without causing further disturbance to the riverbed. Authorities will monitor the site and said they would continue to work with volunteers and water companies to identify and address other significant accumulations along the tidal Thames.

The clearance follows growing public attention to plastic pollution in waterways and renewed policy focus on single-use and flushable products. Officials and campaigners said the operation underlined the scale of the problem and the need for both behavioural change and regulatory measures to prevent waste entering sewer and river systems.