Volunteers work to clear rubbish from the banks of the River Thames, with Hammersmith Bridge in background.
Volunteers work to clear rubbish from the banks of the River Thames, with Hammersmith Bridge in background.Matt Dunham/AP
  • There is a mass of wet wipes in the river.

  • The island is larger than two tennis courts.

  • The public is urged to not flush wet wipes and the government is considering banning those with plastic.

According to The Times of London, a wet wipe island the size of two tennis courts has formed in the river, causing it to change course.

The government is considering banning the use of plastic wet wipes.

When wet wipes are flushed down the drain, they end up in England's second longest river.

"There's an island the size of two tennis courts, and I've been and stood on it, and it's a meter deep or more in places of just wet wipes," he said. Anderson said during a session of questions on the environment, food, and rural affairs that it had changed the course of the river.

According to The Times, Anderson's proposal to ban the manufacture and sale of wet wipes with plastic is unlikely to become a law.

The plastic used in most wet wipes does not break down when flushed.

The charity said that they can break down into microplastic and damage the environment.

The charity wants the government to ban wet wipes with plastic and to regulate how they should be thrown away.

According to data from Tideway and the PLA, one mound of plastic grew by around 55 inches in five years, covering the area of two tennis courts.

There were between 50 and 200 wet wipes per square meter.

The charity collected more than 27,000 wipes last year at a different location.

Fatbergs are mass of solid waste made of grease and fat that can block sewer lines.

The minister asked people not to flush wipes down the drain if they use them.

The government is going to come up with some suggestions soon.

Business Insider has an article on it.