Latest news with #wetwipes
The Independent
a day ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Footage shows diggers removing ‘disgusting' island of wet wipes from Thames
Footage shows diggers starting to remove a 'disgusting' bank of wet wipes that has built up along the River Thames in west London as part of a first-of-its-kind clean-up project. Plastic waste has gathered over recent years into a thick sludge along a 250-metre stretch of the river's southern foreshore by Hammersmith Bridge. Dubbed 'wet wipe island', campaigners from the charity Thames 21 have been calling for a major clean-up as well as a wider crackdown on plastic pollution as its volunteers collected more than 140,000 wet wipes from the area over eight years. Work to remove the estimated 180 tonnes of congealed wipes, led by the Port of London Authority (PLA) in collaboration with Thames Water, began on Monday and is expected to take up to a month to complete. Footage showed the arms of diggers plunging into the mud of what looks like a protruding river bank. But closer up, the machines could be seen scooping out chunks of mucky rubbish that included dangling bits of plastic and wet wipes. Plastic waste has settled in this slow part of the river after being flushed down toilets and released as part of untreated sewage by Thames Water during periods of heavy rain. Tires, a cone, items of clothing, plastic bags and pieces of taupe were also shown littering the shoreline and floating in the water against the backdrop of Hammersmith's scenic riverside pubs and homes. It is estimated that the wet wipe island is one metre deep in some places, covers an area equivalent to two tennis courts and weighs the same amount as 15 double-decker London buses. Once removed, the waste will go to landfills rather than being recycled due to the high levels of contamination. Grace Rawnsley, PLA director of sustainability, told the PA news agency: 'It is disgusting. 'It's unsightly, it's causing environmental harm and we don't think it should be here.' The wet wipes break down into microplastics and contaminate the environment with other types of bacteria, she said, adding: 'It's really important to get them out'. Asked why it has taken years to remove the island, Ms Rawnsley said: 'We're just as frustrated at the pace as everybody. 'We wish responsible bodies had acted sooner to deal with the issues, but this is a good opportunity.' The clean-up comes after the new Thames Tideway Tunnel recently started operating, with expectations that it will help to catch 250 tonnes of plastic waste a year. It is hoped the new so-called 'super sewer' will also help to reduce the amount of untreated sewage Thames Water dumps into waterways during wet or stormy weather as part of efforts to stop the system being overwhelmed. This sector-wide issue, caused by a lack of investment in ageing infrastructure, growing demand and climate impacts, has sparked public outcry. John Sullivan, Thames Water's head of its Tideway Integration Group, said: 'Now the Thames Tideway Tunnel is in operation, we will intercept 95% of the volume of water that goes into the river. 'It's only in the most extreme storms that we'll ever get an overflow now.' Asked why Thames has taken so long to act on the issue, he said: 'It would seem sensible to do this scale of a clean-up once the Thames Tideway Tunnel has gone into operation. 'Without it, we'd be coming back year on year in order to do the clean-up.' Challenged on why interim clean-ups were not carried out over the years to limit the breakdown of plastics, he said: 'This one clean-up is spending our customers' money more wisely, doing it once, assessing the impact and then coming back if necessary.' Alongside Thames21 and PLA, Thames Water is urging the public to dispose of wet wipes in the bin rather than flush them down toilets. 'They are a curse of the sewer system,' Mr Sullivan said. 'What we'd encourage our customers to do is only flush pee, poo and paper down the toilet rather than wet wipes.' The project is currently a standalone clean-up because of the size of the build-up in the area, but Mr Sullivan said the company is working with Thames21 to understand whether there are further sites to tackle. The three organisations are also urging companies to tackle the plastic waste they produce and have welcomed legislation currently progressing through Parliament to ban plastic in wet wipes. Liz Gyellye, communications manager at Thames21, said: 'We're arguing for systemic change. 'Of course (the clean-up) is part of the puzzle but it's not the whole puzzle. 'We want manufacturers to introduce alternatives to plastic wet wipes, we want water companies to invest in sewage infrastructure and we want consumers not to flush them down the loos and put them in the bin. 'And, of course, we want the Government to hurry up and introduce a ban on plastic in wet wipes.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
London's 'Wet Wipe Island' in Hammersmith to be mass-cleaned
Work has started to get rid of a build up of wet wipes along a stretch of the River Thames in west London known locally as "Wet Wipe Island".The Port of London Authority (PLA) has said it will remove about 180 tonnes of congealed wet wipes – the equivalent to the weight of 15 double decker London buses – that has formed along a 250m (820ft) stretch of the tidal Thames near Hammersmith Bridge. St Paul's School in Barnes is giving access to its grounds to allow an eight-tonne excavator to remove the "island", which is 1m (3ft) high in authority added that the wet wipes and other pollutants would be taken away in skips and disposed of responsibly. The island, which is about the size of two tennis courts, has changed the course of the river and potentially harmed the aquatic wildlife and ecology in the area, the PLA to clean wet wipes from the environment have previously relied on people removing them by hand. Inspired by the work of volunteers at Thames 21, and with support from Thames Water, the PLA said they decided to take a lead in co-ordinating larger scale action to remove this "unsightly and harmful mess".Thames21 and its volunteers have been monitoring the island since PLA added that the project was part of an ambition to improve river health in the Thames. 'World's greatest river' Thames Water recently announced a further £1.8bn investment to improve river health across London, and last year connected its £4.6bn Thames Tideway Tunnel to support the reduction of sewage discharges into the tidal Thames by 95%.Grace Rawnsley from the PLA said: "For too long, 'Wet Wipe Island' in Hammersmith has been a source of environmental harm and an embarrassment to the capital."This is the first time anyone has sought to execute a mass, mechanical removal of wet wipes in this way."We will continue to bring innovation and investment to help the world's greatest river thrive."Chris Coode, the CEO at Thames21, said: "Plastic wet wipes have no place in our rivers or natural environment, so it's terrific news that action is being taken to remove 'Wet Wipe Island' in the Thames."This vital move is a crucial step towards protecting the health of the River Thames and its wildlife, as it will reduce the introduction of microplastics into the environment from this site."He added: "Thames21 has been pushing for a ban on plastics in wet wipes. However, we would like to see more systemic change to tackle the issue of plastics entering the environment via wet wipes and other sanitary waste."The clean up project is expected to take up to a month to complete.
The Independent
18-07-2025
- Science
- The Independent
The ‘biodegradable' product that can be terrible for the environment
Have you felt disgust when taking a walk along the riverside or plunging into the sea to escape the summer heat, only to spy a used wet wipe floating along the surface? Or shock at finding out that animals have died choking on plastic products or that the seafood we eat may be contaminated with microfibres? These pollutants are common in our waterways because of the mismanagement of sewage and inappropriate disposal that flush hygiene products and microfibres into rivers and oceans. In the UK alone, more than 11 billion wet wipes are thrown away annually. Wet wipe litter was found on 72% of UK beaches in 2023. They persist because they're made of plastic, a durable material that won't easily degrade. Plastic can last for decades to hundreds of years. Therefore, governments and manufacturers are eagerly encouraging the use of non-plastics as more 'sustainable' alternatives, with the UK banning plastic in wet wipes in 2024. These textiles can be made from plant or animal fibres such as cotton and wool, or they may be chemically and physically modified, such as rayon or viscose. They are often labelled 'biodegradable' on product packaging, suggesting they are environmentally friendly, break down quickly, and are a safe alternative to plastics. But is this really the case? My research focuses on investigating the environmental impact of these non-plastic textiles and their persistence in waterways. My colleagues and I have found that some non-plastic microfibres can be just as problematic or even more harmful than plastic. While non-plastic textiles are not as long-lived as plastics, with many composting within weeks to months, they can last long enough to accumulate and cause damage to plants, animals and humans. Studies by scientists at the University of Stirling show that biodegradable wet wipes can last up to 15 weeks on beaches, where they can act as a reservoir for faecal bacteria and Other studies have highlighted non-plastic textiles lasting for two months or more in rivers and oceans, where they break up into hundreds of thousands of microfibres. These microfibres are so prevalent in waterways that they have contaminated animals across the food chain, from filter-feeding mussels and oysters to top predators such as sharks and the seafood we eat. They are also found in remote locations as far away as the Arctic seafloor and deep sea, thousands of miles from civilisation. These discoveries highlight that non-plastics last longer than we think. The dangers of non-plastics Once exposed to aquatic life, non-plastic microfibres can be easily ingested or inhaled, where they can become trapped in the body and cause damage. During their manufacture, textile fibres can be modified with various chemical additives to improve their function, such as flame retardants, antibacterials, softeners, UV protection and dyes. It is known that several toxic synthetic chemicals, including the plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA), are used for this purpose. These additives can be carcinogenic, cause neurotoxic effects or damage hormonal and reproductive health. Researchers like me, have only just begun to explore the dangers of non-plastics. Some have shown that non-plastic microfibres and their additives can damage the digestive system, cause stress, hinder development and alter immune responses in animals such as shrimp, mussels, and oysters. However, other studies have shown little to no effect of non-plastic microfibres on animals exposed to them. We do not yet know how much of a threat these materials are to the environment. Only the manufacturers know exactly what's in the textiles we use. This makes it hard to understand what threats we are really facing. Nevertheless, assumptions that non-plastics are environmentally friendly and an easy alternative to plastic materials must be challenged and reconsidered. To do this, we need to push for greater transparency in the contents of our everyday items and test them to make sure that they are truly sustainable and won't harm the world around us. So next time you are browsing the supermarket aisles and come across a pack of 'biodegradable' or 'environmentally friendly' wet wipes, just question, are they really?
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- General
- News.com.au
500-tonne gross find in Aussie sewerage
A simple household act many Aussies consider totally fine is costing them and their state thousands of dollars and hours every year to repair. Flushing wet wipes down the toilet continues to plague state water departments, with hundreds of tonnes of the product being removed from systems every year. Flushed wipes can easily block household drainage systems and cost Aussie homeowners more than $1000 in plumbing bills. But it's the wipes that make it off the property and into the state systems that cause even bigger problems. Known as 'fatbergs', huge clumps of wipes that have melded together are extracted from state systems every year. The biggest cluster of wet wipes removed from a system was recorded in 2024 when a 42-tonne 'fatberg' was discovered in Victoria. It weighed two tonnes more than the average petrol tanker and took workers nine hours to dislodge and remove from the sewer. Another, discovered in 2016 in NSW's Hunter Region, involved a one-tonne ball of wipes was removed from local sewer pipes. Almost 75 per cent of the one-tonne cluster was removed with specialised equipment from a station at Eleebana while the remaining 25 per cent was removed by hand using buckets. MORE: Worst hoarder homes in Australia exposed 'Wet wipes are responsible for around 80 per cent of all sewer blockages in Hunter Water's system,' Hunter Water Corporation spokesman Nick Kaiser said at the time. 'These can cost thousands of dollars to repair and if they occur in people's private plumbing that cost is worn by the customer.' Following the Eleebana incident the Water Services Association of Australia estimated flushed wipes were costing water departments nationwide $25 million per year. Sydney Water claims it removes more than 500 tonnes of wet wipes from its 24,000km of pipes, 680 pumping stations and 29 wastewater treatment and recycling plants every year. At the heart of the issue is false advertising where wipe manufacturers claim the synthetic wipes are flushable. This leads Aussie to think it's fine to flush them down the toilet without realising they actually don't dissolve like toilet paper and can take many years to break down. Once in the sewerage systems, wipes combine with fats and other substances to form the massive 'fatberg' clumps decimating systems. In Victoria, Yarra Valley Water said it spends nearly $1 million each year to clear about 1200 blockages caused by wipes. Yarra Valley Water said it retrieves almost 14 tonnes of wet wipes and rags from sewer system in any given week. Meanwhile, South Australia marked 2024 as its worst year on record for wet wipe issues – more than 1600 blockages were recorded in Adelaide in a single year. In Queensland, Urban Utilities remove about 120 tonnes of wet wipes each year, costing the state about $1 million.
The Guardian
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Spain to ban flushing of wet wipes, with manufacturers paying clean up costs
The Spanish government is preparing a law that will oblige wet wipe manufacturers to cover the costs of cleaning huge wads of their product from the country's clogged-up sewers and water-treatment plants. The draft legislation, which is intended to help Spain meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and comply with EU legislation on reducing single-use plastic products, will also ban people from disposing of wet wipes down the toilet, as well as prohibiting the deliberate release of disposable party balloons containing plastic into the environment because of the marine pollution they cause. According to the law's outline, wet wipes and balloons are among the 10 single-use plastic items most commonly found on beaches in the EU. 'Wet wipes – even those made with natural polymers that haven't been chemically modified – have a negative environmental impact and significantly affect the functioning of the sewer and purification networks,' the legislation says. 'Because they do not disintegrate completely, they cause obstructions in the sewer system that reduce its water retention capacity and increase the risk of overflows – especially during spells of heavy rain.' The draft notes that microfibres from wet wipes also end up in rivers and other bodies of water, leaving local authorities with hefty clean-up bills and environmental fines. Figures from the Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation put the annual cost of clearing wet wipes from sewer and purification systems at €230m (£190m). Given the environmental damage that wet wipes and balloons cause, the new law will oblige their manufacturers to cover the costs of cleaning up their products, 'including cleaning of sanitation and treatment infrastructure, as well as its subsequent transport and treatment'. In addition to being responsible for both regular collections of litter involving their products and sporadic spills, they will be obliged to cover the costs of 'awareness-raising measures'. The draft also says that although genuinely biodegradable wipes will be exempt from the ban on 'the disposal of wet wipes down the toilet', the environment ministry recommends people do not throw any kinds of wet wipes down the loo 'so as to minimise the impact on sewer infrastructure and the environment'. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Asked how the proposed bans would work in practice, sources at the ministry stressed that the law was still a work in progress, adding: 'Educating people and raising awareness are always important elements.'
