Wet wipes clogging Thames 'are a major threat to wildlife'

A huge increase in wet wipes flushed down London’s loos has become a “major threat” to wildlife in the Thames, conservationists warned today.

Shock findings show the foreshore has the worst concentration ever recorded in Britain of discarded wipes, which are not biodegradable.

Wet wipes are even altering the shape of the river bed, warned environmental group Thames21, clogging together with mud and twigs to form mounds on the inside of bends where the water moves more slowly.

Its third annual survey this Saturday, called The Big Count, will see volunteers comb the beach near Hammersmith Bridge at low tide from 11am to record every scrap of litter washed up.

Chris Coode, deputy chief executive of the charity, said: “I was walking at Hammersmith this morning and I could see wet wipes all over the place where ducks were dabbling and herons hunting.

People are buying the wipes in ever increasing numbers but too few realise that they should never flush them down the loo.”

A previous survey found 150 wet wipes in a single square metre of Thames foreshore. That is far higher than the 50 found per kilometre of coastline in a study by the Marine Conservation Society, which is also worried about a four-fold increase in the waste.

London’s problem is severe because its Victorian sewers overflow into the river after heavy rainfall — a fault that the new Thames Tideway Tunnel is designed to solve.

Wipes cause pipe blockages and contribute to “fat bergs”, while millions end up in the river where they take years to break down.

Ultimately, the fibres turn into microplastics that can enter the food chain. A study found more than seven in 10 Thames flounders had plastics in their stomachs.

Former Olympic rower Andrew Triggs Hodge, who now works for Tideway, said: “Throughout my career, I regularly saw the discharges of sewage from London’s overburdened, Victorian sewers.

"Wet wipes and the rest have no place in the city’s biggest natural asset.”