Inside ‘disgusting' UK wet wipe island where 180 tonnes of rubbish is left to rot
SEWER SPOIL Inside 'disgusting' UK wet wipe island where 180 tonnes of rubbish is left to rot
AN ENORMOUS pile of rubbish named 'wet wipe' island has begun to form along a UK river.
The 180-tonne lump of filth, which is the size of a five-a-side football pitch, is damaging wildlife and creating a huge eyesore.
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The 180-tonne pile of wet wipes is being removed
Credit: PA
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Construction workers at the launch of the first mass wet wipe removal from a UK river
Credit: PA
3
Volunteers have been trying to clear up the mess for years
Credit: PA
Located by Hammersmith Bridge in West London, the mound of garbage began to form a number of years ago, and now covers a 250-metre stretch of the River Thames.
And the heap has become to infamous that it has now even been listed on Google Maps as a cultural landmark.
Thankfully, the gargantuan mass is soon to be removed, thanks to a clean up operation from the Port of London Authority and Thames Water.
It is expected to take a month to complete, with wet wipes and other pollutants removed in skips for safe disposal.
Concerned volunteers have been monitoring the trash island since 2017, and have tried to clean up the mess by hand.
Over the past eight years they have removed over 140,000 wet wipes that have been flushed in to the river, but still the lump of rubbish continues to grow.
Locals have raised concerns about the impact the rubbish heap has on aquatic life and water quality, with sewage pollution leading to E-Coli in the water.
"Frankly it is disgusting", Mark Anderson, the PLA's head of corporate affairs, told The Telegraph.
"We are just as frustrated as anybody, and have wanted to see this addressed for years."
One resident, expressing concern over the wet wipe mound told The Guardian: "To be honest, it makes me emotional and frustrated that people are actually flushing their wet wipes instead of disposing of them correctly.
"It's slightly embarrassing."
Men's Boat Race 2025 DELAYED by debris in River Thames following concerns over water safety
Thames Water clears a whopping £3.8 billion wipes from its network each year, which costs £18 million.
Wet wipes should never be put down the toilet, and should instead be disposed of in bins.
Thames Water has come under fire for its handling of water pollution, with 33 'serious pollution incidents' caused by the water company in 2024.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed called the figures 'disgraceful' and a 'stark reminder' of how underinvestment and weak regulation had led to record sewage pollution.
What is wrong with flushing wet wipes?
UNLIKE standard toilet paper, wet wipes do not dissolve, and contain materials which do not disintegrate like paper-based tissue.
Wet wipes can congeal down the toilet, causing blockages that lead to build-ups of fat – known as fatbergs.
This can also lead to materials like plastics being released into the environment, which could have consequences for the human food chain.
Plastics in the wipes can also be eaten by whales and tiny plankton - and has been found in mussels set for human consumption.
However, it has vowed to invest £9.5 billion in the next five years on improving river health and protecting the environment.
The government is also set to ban wet wipes containing plastic to help tackle this problem.
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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside ‘disgusting' UK wet wipe island where 180 tonnes of rubbish is left to rot
Locals have raised concerns about the impact the rubbish heap has on aquatic life and water quality SEWER SPOIL Inside 'disgusting' UK wet wipe island where 180 tonnes of rubbish is left to rot AN ENORMOUS pile of rubbish named 'wet wipe' island has begun to form along a UK river. The 180-tonne lump of filth, which is the size of a five-a-side football pitch, is damaging wildlife and creating a huge eyesore. 3 The 180-tonne pile of wet wipes is being removed Credit: PA 3 Construction workers at the launch of the first mass wet wipe removal from a UK river Credit: PA 3 Volunteers have been trying to clear up the mess for years Credit: PA Located by Hammersmith Bridge in West London, the mound of garbage began to form a number of years ago, and now covers a 250-metre stretch of the River Thames. And the heap has become to infamous that it has now even been listed on Google Maps as a cultural landmark. Thankfully, the gargantuan mass is soon to be removed, thanks to a clean up operation from the Port of London Authority and Thames Water. It is expected to take a month to complete, with wet wipes and other pollutants removed in skips for safe disposal. Concerned volunteers have been monitoring the trash island since 2017, and have tried to clean up the mess by hand. Over the past eight years they have removed over 140,000 wet wipes that have been flushed in to the river, but still the lump of rubbish continues to grow. Locals have raised concerns about the impact the rubbish heap has on aquatic life and water quality, with sewage pollution leading to E-Coli in the water. "Frankly it is disgusting", Mark Anderson, the PLA's head of corporate affairs, told The Telegraph. "We are just as frustrated as anybody, and have wanted to see this addressed for years." One resident, expressing concern over the wet wipe mound told The Guardian: "To be honest, it makes me emotional and frustrated that people are actually flushing their wet wipes instead of disposing of them correctly. "It's slightly embarrassing." Men's Boat Race 2025 DELAYED by debris in River Thames following concerns over water safety Thames Water clears a whopping £3.8 billion wipes from its network each year, which costs £18 million. Wet wipes should never be put down the toilet, and should instead be disposed of in bins. Thames Water has come under fire for its handling of water pollution, with 33 'serious pollution incidents' caused by the water company in 2024. Environment Secretary Steve Reed called the figures 'disgraceful' and a 'stark reminder' of how underinvestment and weak regulation had led to record sewage pollution. What is wrong with flushing wet wipes? UNLIKE standard toilet paper, wet wipes do not dissolve, and contain materials which do not disintegrate like paper-based tissue. Wet wipes can congeal down the toilet, causing blockages that lead to build-ups of fat – known as fatbergs. This can also lead to materials like plastics being released into the environment, which could have consequences for the human food chain. Plastics in the wipes can also be eaten by whales and tiny plankton - and has been found in mussels set for human consumption. However, it has vowed to invest £9.5 billion in the next five years on improving river health and protecting the environment. The government is also set to ban wet wipes containing plastic to help tackle this problem.
Irish Times
05-08-2025
- Irish Times
‘Just be in the present moment': the tyranny of western McMindfulness
Sometimes, the present moment is precisely what we need. Sometimes, it is unbearable. The present moment is not a benign psychological state of calm and tranquillity; it is to be approached with caution because it is potent with possibility and the potential to unravel our cobbled-together lives. 'Just be in the present moment,' we might say to the overstretched parent, the struggling adolescent, the commuter getting home in the dark or the junior doctor 11 hours into another Friday night working in A&E. Often this is a heartfelt and well-intended response to witnessing our fellow humans in distress; an expression of a genuine desire to offer comfort and support. However, this is not always the wisest response; it ignores what we know about the human mind, obscures the structural issues that underpin much human distress and runs the risk of victim blaming. READ MORE Like every generation before us, when faced with the inevitable challenges of being human, we seek simple solutions to complex problems. We turn to our contemporary healers seeking a balm or a quick fix for the troubled heart and mind and the exhausted body. And now, more than ever, we place our hope, perhaps too readily, in the promise of the present moment, overestimating its power and mistaking it for a cure. These minds of ours seem to have minds of their own sometimes. Racing ahead, spiralling back, caught in loops or worry and scenes we never meant to replay. There is little doubt that the human mind needs to be rescued from the rollercoaster of worry and rumination, the cycle of graphic catastrophisation we are all gripped by from time to time. However, the imperative to simply 'be in the present moment' is often a well-meant but naive response that fails to grasp the complexity of the human mind. The 'just be in the present moment' cultural obsession has taken firm root over the past two decades, emerging in part from the oversimplification of mindfulness meditation. This trend has been described as 'McMindfulness': a westernised, reductive, fast-food version of Eastern meditation practices, stripped of their ethical and moral foundations. [ Anyone else had their fill of mindfulness? Opens in new window ] Experienced meditators might smile at the naive expectation that one could inhabit the present at will or, indeed, remain there for prolonged periods of time. Or that 'being in the present moment' is a straightforward choice; like flipping a switch and we're suddenly in the arms of the present moment, luxuriating in contentment and calm. Worryingly, the present-moment obsession locates the source of distress firmly within the individual, overlooking the structural and systemic conditions that underlie so much human distress. In so doing, the concept of 'the present moment' is co-opted to serve an increasingly individualistic and meritocratic social narrative. The current obsession with the present moment also plays into the lucrative wellness culture we find ourselves immersed in. A wellness culture that also seeks to exist in the absence of meaningful social critique. This culture places an unsustainable burden on individual bodies and minds, demanding self-optimisation without addressing the broader conditions that cause distress. In such a culture underpinned by insatiable individualism, we find ourselves stumbling towards a new kind of exhaustion, present-moment burn out. Sometimes, the present moment is simply too much to bear. Sometimes, it's too painful. Sometimes it's overwhelming. And fundamentally, that is not a failure of will; it is simply not how the human brain works. Advances in neuroscience tell us the brain does not behave like a machine, responding to commands, and switching gears on command. It is the product of millenniums of evolution, shaped to anticipate, remember and protect. It does not yield easily to commands such as 'just relax', 'don't be worrying' or 'be in the present moment'. Our brains are primed for vigilance, to detect threats, escape danger and act fast, not linger and reflect. This immediacy and reactivity once gave our ancestors a survival advantage in a threat-ridden world. It's a 'better safe than sorry' brain in the main; reflection weighing the pros and cons comes later; survival comes first. The human brain's ability to psychologically avoid and deny the present moment is a highly evolved way of protecting ourselves from being overwhelmed. At times it might be the only option, even the wisest one, when life's harshness is unrelenting, when the forces of social and economic deprivation offer no reprieve, and when the lottery of life seems incessantly cruel. [ Has mindfulness become just another wing of capitalism? Opens in new window ] 'Just be in the present moment' can be a brutal ask that risks exposing the human heart and soul to more than they can bear. In the face of adversity, temporary emotional avoidance may be precisely what's called for. Denial, so often maligned by present-moment enthusiasts, can in fact be our ally. It can serve as an adaptive, protective and even compassionate reflex in the face of the cruelty we can encounter as we make our way through this life. The danger lies in becoming trapped in a pattern of denial: the psychological toll involved in persistent denial is considerable. A little denial can go a long way, but we get into trouble when avoidance becomes a way of life. A life lived in a continual state of denial and avoidance will blunt all of life; we risk living a life that feels hollowed out, flattened. In the present moment we are invited to bow to our smallness and insignificance, where we recognise our place in the vast web of existence, our place in the 'family of things' as the poet Mary Oliver described it. The immensity of the universe is laid bare when the present moment is encountered; this immensity slowly and softly reveals itself to us, offering an invitation to breathe deeply and live more wholeheartedly. In the presence of this moment, our interconnectedness is felt viscerally again, as if for the first time. The present moment pulls the rug from beneath us, uproots us from an anaesthetised individualism and reawakens us to the sharpness and subtlety of our shared humanity. Our long-standing ill-at-ease, out-of-sorts hen on a hot griddle eventually gives way to a bewildering vastness: sparkling with marvellousness and insignificance, tipsy on the freedom of it all. Our current cultural obsession with the present moment often obscures its radical potential, attempting to neutralise its potency. The present moment does not exist in an abeyance of our past or our imagined future. The present moment is never cut off from our past or imagined future; it is carried on the wings of memory and anticipation, rooted in what has been and lifted by what might be. The present moment, nestled quietly here, is not a refuge of sameness or shallow calm. It is the threshold where the familiar comforts of predictability begin to loosen, making space for the life that has been quietly waiting for us all along. Dr Paul D'Alton is associate professor at the school of psychology, UCD
The Irish Sun
04-08-2025
- The Irish Sun
Pilot ‘didn't send mayday call' before plane vanished without a trace as search for missing couple on board continues
Pilot was 'very experienced' but plane was 'new to him' after buying it just months ago PLANE MYSTERY Pilot 'didn't send mayday call' before plane vanished without a trace as search for missing couple on board continues A PILOT flying off Australia with his partner and their dog reportedly failed to contact authorities before their plane disappeared. The two-seater aircraft took off from George Town in Northern Tasmania on Saturday afternoon. Advertisement 5 An Australian Maritime Safety Authority search aircraft reportedly deployed to search for the plane Credit: Australian Maritime Safety Authority 5 The plane took off from George Town in Northern Tasmania on Saturday afternoon Credit: Google Maps 5 On board was a man in his 70s, a female passenger in her 60s, and their dog, but none have been seen or heard from since. The plane was set to stop in Leongatha in southern Victoria, before continuing to on to Hillston Airport in New South Wales. But the aircraft never made it to its first stop — and no mayday call or radio contact was ever made. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed the pilot didn't make contact before takeoff, but added it's still investigating whether the plane disappeared before such communication was required. Advertisement The move has since stunned aviation experts, with George Town flight instructor Eugene Reid telling ABC: 'You have to do scheduled reporting. 'On leaving the coast, they should have called up air services.' Compounding the mystery, the aircraft was reportedly equipped with an emergency satellite beacon, which should have triggered if anything had gone wrong — but no signal was detected. Reid also noted that local airports like George Town don't always track individual flight plans. Advertisement 'If someone took their plane out of the hangar and flew away, well, you wouldn't know,' he said. The revelation has since intensified the urgency of the multi-agency search, which entered its third day on Monday. Ex- fighter pilot and son, 13, feared dead after plane crashed off Majorca as wreckage found near tourist hotspot Authorities are scouring vast stretches of northern Tasmania, the Bass Strait, and southern Victoria with helicopters, aircraft, and marine crews. They say the focus remains on finding the pair alive. Advertisement Police have confirmed the couple, both Tasmanian residents, were travelling to visit family in NSW when they disappeared. AMSA confirmed the aircraft disappeared over Bass Strait after leaving George Town around 12.45pm. The alarm was raised shortly after 5pm on Saturday by concerned relatives after the pair failed to arrive in NSW. Tasmania Police Inspector Nick Clark said the pilot was 'very experienced' and a key member of the local aero club. Advertisement But he added the plane itself was 'new to him,' having only been purchased three to four months ago. 'We believe he has had several flights prior to this incident,' Clark said. 'Any body of water is difficult to search. The main thing is, though, that this is still a search operation.' 5 Rescue workers are searching the area near the flight's path Credit: Australian Maritime Safety Authority Advertisement 5 A Tasmania Police boat involved in the search operation Credit: ABC News: Mackenzie Heard The disappearance triggered an immediate and large-scale search effort, coordinated by AMSA. Air and marine assets from Tasmania Police, Victoria Police, and regional airline Par Avion have been combing the area. AMSA previously said: 'Just after 5pm on Saturday evening, concern was raised after the aircraft failed to land in Central Western NSW. Advertisement 'Search efforts are underway across northern Tasmania around George Town, over the Bass Strait and southern Victoria around Morwell and Leongatha.' Anyone travelling near George Town, crossing Bass Strait, or along southern Victoria's coastline is urged to report any signs of wreckage to AMSA or Tasmania Police immediately. In a direct appeal to the public, Inspector Clark said: 'Keep a lookout for any debris or something as simple as a life jacket or some aeroplane parts. 'If you find people in the water and it's safe to do so, please render them assistance.' Advertisement The Sun has contacted AMSA and Tasmania police for more information.
