If you eat your lunch, we suggest you put it down.
A ‘wet cattle island’ the size of two tennis courts appeared on the Thames, prompting a call from ministers asking people to stop using the items.
The government is considering a ban on wet wipes containing plastic, to reduce the pollution caused by flushing it down the toilet.
Rebecca Pow, an environment minister, said if members of the public should use the wipes, they should not flush them down the drain afterwards.
Fleur Anderson, a Labor MP, said large piles of wet wipes and debris changed the shape of rivers, as well as polluting water.
Wet wipes also make up almost 90 percent of the material in ‘fat mountains’ which are accumulations of grease and household waste that can block sewers.
What is the ‘wet cattle island’ and how has it changed The Thames?
The ‘wet cattle island’ was caused by an influx of wet cloths that entered the River Thames through sewer pipes after being flushed down the toilet.
Most wet wipes contain plastic, and as a result they can cause blockages that back up sewage and then spill into the River Thames.
Research shows that so many wet canvases build up in the Thames that it changes the shape of the riverbed.
When they land on the foreshore, they break down into microplastics, damaging aquatic life, as well as the Thames’ ecosystem.
Environmental charity Thames21 calls for a ban on the sale of all wet wipes containing plastic.
The charity is also an urgent regulation that requires clear labeling of how to throw away wet wipes to prevent consumer confusion, it said in response to the government’s consultation.
Banning plastic in wet wipes will help reduce this sewage-based pollution that ends up in the River Thames and reduce microplastics in the river system.
Last year, volunteers for the charity picked up more than 27,000 cloths over the span of two days at a separate site next to Battersea Bridge.
For the past seven years, Thames21 has documented the type of plastic rubbish that washed up on the banks of London’s iconic river.
In just under five years, one hill has grown 1.4 m high and covered the area of two tennis courts, data from Tideway and the PLA show.
At key hotspots, wet wipes were found in densities of up to 50 to 200 per square meter.
Debbie Leach, CEO at Thames21, said: “Our volunteers pick up mountains of wet wipes every year and remove them, as we saw at this year’s Big Wet Wipe Count. These modern pollutants are harmful to wildlife and humans.
“As people use the River Thames for recreational activities, there is a danger that these polluted hills could affect their health.
“We urge the government to work faster and do more to end this form of sewage – based pollution that has a devastating impact on the River Thames and to ban plastic in wet cloths.”
For more information, visit Thames21.org.uk