First mass wet wipe removal from a UK river launched to clean London’s ‘Wet Wipe Island’ - Thames21
Work has started on the mass excavation of London’s Wet Wipe Island in a first-of-its-kind river clean-up project to further improve the quality of the River Thames.
Led and co-ordinated by the Port of London Authority with collaboration from Thames Water, the operation is removing an estimated 180 tonnes of congealed wet wipes that has formed the island along a 250-metre stretch of the tidal Thames near Hammersmith Bridge. It is expected to take up to a month to complete.
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.
To date, efforts to clean wet wipes from this unique natural environment have relied on people removing them by hand. Inspired by the work of volunteers at Thames 21, the PLA decided to take a lead in co-ordinating larger scale action to remove this unsightly and harmful mess.
The UK’s biggest port, which is responsible for protecting and improving the tidal Thames, commissioned an independent ecological study of the site. This helped inform and develop an environmentally responsible plan to use a mechanical excavator to remove the wet wipes on a mass scale.
Posted On: 12/08/2025
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