Anyone who has used a wet wipe to clean a baby’s bottom knows how effective and satisfying they are to use. But Britain’s sewers are repeatedly, and damagingly clogged by wet wipes. The government is planning a plastic wet wipe ban, but can it be that simple? CURB (Clean up River Brent) discuss the issues that surround wet wipes and what we as individuals can do.
Our entire sewage system rests and relies on our rivers. When there is a fault, a blockage or a shortfall of capacity, untreated foul sewage discharges directly into the habitat of fish, waterbirds and invertebrates, keystone species on whom they all depend. Sometimes these ‘spills’ are caused by a lack of capacity, resulting from under-investment by water companies.
On other occasions, responsibility rests with us, and what we are putting down our drains. So water companies have been asking us for years not to flush any wet wipes down the toilet. Here is South West Water plea over 7,000 blockages and fatbergs – BBC News and the inspirational Bin the wipe from Northumberland Water, where their research pointed to many not having a bin in the bathroom.
Bin it, don’t block it
Locally Thames water encourages everyone to think twice before flushing anything that isn’t pee, poo or toilet paper. Use your bathroom bin for anything else which will stop blockages. Bin it – don’t block it
What we flush down the toilet can have a harmful impact on our rivers and seas. Find out from Dr Laura Foster, expert in marine conservation and climate change, what we should and shouldn’t be flushing here Can I flush it? Marine Conservation Society
Cleaning up the River Brent
CURB (Clean Up the River Brent) volunteers have a somewhat mixed relationship with wet wipes. They offer a foul, lingering proof of sewage pollution in the Brent, long after the soluble parts have gone. We have photographed thousands of wet wipes as part of our campaign. Plus we have removed and counted them, dangling in filth from the metal grilles on outfalls discharging into the river.
Once in the environment, wet wipes are very difficult to remove, shedding microplastics into the food chain, snagging wildlife, and degrading areas of natural beauty. Our seas are swimming in wet wipes says the Marine Conservation Society. When flushed into our sewers the plastic in wet wipes breaks down into microplastics, washing into the sea where they start to break down killing marine wildlife and clogging up our beaches. Find out more about Urban Pollution and its impacts on Ealing’s Rivers.
Wet wipe Island
In 2025, Londons notorious ‘wet wipe island’ on the shores of the Thames at Hammersmith and Barnes, was cleared by a couple of diggers. The island, which was about the size of two tennis courts and up to 1m high in places, had changed the course of the river and likely to have harmed the aquatic wildlife and ecology in the area.
They removed 114 tonnes – including about c. 5 million wet wipes. London’s ‘Wet Wipe Island’ in Hammersmith to be mass-cleaned – BBC News
The wipes at the island would have got there by:
- being flushed down toilets in West London, and then discharged into the Thames
- London sewage treatment works being overwhelmed and discharging excess into the waterways
- blocked sewers (often by wet wipes) overflowing into surface water drains which flow to the river
Thames rowers and mudlarkers observed this unnatural bank nicknamed “wet wipe island” building over the years. Sadly it seems only a matter of time before it starts to build again.
Government plastic wet wipe ban
After years of discussion, the government is finally proposing a plastic wet wipe ban with new law bans plastic wet wipes to protect rivers and seas. The ban is not complete – there will be circumstances under which they can still be bought, but for normal domestic use, it will be much harder to buy plastic-based wipes.
Plant based wipes: A viable alternative?
Plant-based wipes have been available for some time, and seem to work just as effectively as their plastic forerunners. The question is will their introduction make a genuine contribution to the environment, and how should any of this inform our behaviour?
This question can be broken down into three parts – production, disposal, enduring damage.
It seems that the production of biodegradable wipes, using natural organic fibres, is not without impact, but is probably less energy-intensive than making plastic wipes. Let’s call that a win. The ban on plastic wipes will, purely in production terms, reduce pollution.
We’ll return to disposal, but when we look at enduring damage, it is clearly again a very good thing that less plastic will be passing into the environment, into the food chain, as a result of the ban. Any biodegradable wipes on our rivers, in our seas, on our river banks, will gradually break down and disappear. Again, this is good news. For the issue of disposal, our volunteers did some research on wet wipes to see how viable alternative these “flushable” plastic free plastic wipes are.
Citizen Science on wet wipes
CURB did some wipe testing at home, citizen science if you will – and results are less encouraging.
The photos show the progression of toilet paper, plastic wipes, and biodegradable wipe, left in water over a month.
As you can see, the conventional toilet paper very quickly becomes a dissolving mush. Within minutes this is something which unless flushed in large quantities is unlikely to block a sewer.
But there is very little to choose between the two types of wet wipe: plastic or biodegradable, at this stage.
A month later, and after vigorous stirring, the biodegradable wipe (right) is almost as enduring as the plastic one.
The biodegradable wipe can be torn a little more easily than its plastic counterpart. However, it’s still intact, and shows little sign of deterioration. The water is a bit cloudier, suggesting a small degree of breakdown but not enough for it to not cause issues when flushed.
In short, the biodegradable wet wipe would appear to be just as likely to block a sewer if flushed. By this measure, the ban is unlikely to reduce blockages and overflows caused by inappropriate flushing. As CURB points out when questioned, the water companies say these blockages caused primarily by wet wipes are a significant cause of river pollution.
Bin wet wipes, never flush
Most of the wipes that are sold in the UK are now made of non-plastic materials. The government and water companies say they should not be labelled as “flushable” because they can still cause blockages. So long, plastic wet wipes – but should we be flushing the new ones? – BBC News
So the advice remains the same: only the Three Ps should be flushed – that’s Pee, Poo and Paper. Everything else goes into your bathroom bin. Or even better ditch the wet wipes and use reusable wipes, which can be washed and used again and again. See Why You Should Ditch Wet Wipes & What to Use Instead for inspiration.
Plastic wet wipe ban may increase blockage issues
Personally CURB is concerned that the plastic wet wipe ban will perversely increase wipes going down the toilet as the wipes are labelled flushable and biodegradable. Which as a result will still cause blockages and therefoe pollution and damage to our rivers. For many of us, a loo is a sort of watery waste disposal unit. (It’s not only wet wipes we encounter in the river and on those outfall grilles – sanitary pads, face masks and rubber gloves are also common).
We need to remember that flushing the toilet is the end of one story, getting the waste out of our houses. But it’s also the beginning of another one, where this waste will end up, and some responsibility for that story rests with us.
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