If you’re eating your lunch, we suggest you put it down.

A ‘wet wipe island’ the size of two tennis courts has 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 that contain plastic, in order to cut the pollution caused by them being flushed down the lavatory.

Rebecca Pow, an environmental minister, said that if members of the public need to use the wipes, then they should not then flush them down the drain afterwards.

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Fleur Anderson, a Labour MP, has said that large mounds of wet wipes and waste are changing the shape of rivers, as well as polluting water.

Wet wipes also constitute nearly 90 per cent of the materials contained in ‘fat bergs’ which are build-ups of grease and household waste that can block sewers.

The ‘wet wipe island’ has been caused by an influx of wet wipes, that have entered the river Thames through sewage pipes after they’ve been flushed down the toilet.

Most wet wipes contain plastic, and because of this, they can cause blockages which back up sewage, and then spill into the River Thames.

Research shows that there are so many wet wipes building up in the Thames that they are changing the shape of the riverbed.

When they end up on the foreshore, they break down into microplastic, and damage aquatic life, as well as the Thames’ ecosystem.

Environmental charity Thames21 is calling for a ban on the sale of all wet wipes containing plastic.

The charity is also urging regulation requiring clear labelling of how to dispose of wet wipes to avoid consumer confusion, which it stated in its response to the government’s consultation.

If plastic in wet wipes are banned this will help to reduce this sewage-based pollution ending up in the River Thames and reduce microplastics in the river system.

Last year, volunteers for the charity picked up more than 27,000 wipes over the space of two days at a separate site next to Battersea Bridge.

Thames21 has been documenting the types of plastic litter washed up on foreshores along London’s iconic river over the past seven years.

In just under five years, one mound grew by 1.4m in height and covered the area of two tennis courts, data from Tideway and the PLA shows.

At key hotspots, wet wipes were found in densities of up to 50 to 200 per square metre.

Debbie Leach, CEO at Thames21, said: “Our volunteers record and clear away mountains of wet wipes every year, as we’ve seen at this year’s Big Wet Wipe Count. These modern pollutants are harmful for wildlife and people.

“As people use the River Thames for leisure activities there is a danger that these polluted mounds could affect their health.

“We are urgently calling on the Government to work faster and do more to end this form of sewage-based pollution that is having a devastating impact on the River Thames and ban plastic in wet wipes.”

For more information, visit Thames21.org.uk

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