Wet Wipe Count Shows Big Drop by Hammersmith Bridge
Volunteer event indicates problem may be easing
Volunteers clearing up the foreshore. Picture: Thames 21
October 19, 2026
The Thames foreshore beside Hammersmith Bridge is showing the strongest signs yet that one of the river's most persistent pollution problems may finally be easing.
The latest Big Wet Wipe Count, carried out on 11 October, recorded a dramatic fall in the number of wipes settling on this stretch of riverbank – a decline so marked that long-standing volunteers described it as the most encouraging set of results they have seen.
Around forty volunteers joined Thames21 for the autumn survey, spending the morning combing the mudflats and shingle to gather data on how many wipes continue to wash up here. As the document notes, “volunteers had found 733 wipes in 50 sampling squares, compared with 1,584 found in the same spots in April.” That is more than a 50 per cent reduction in just six months.
No single cause can yet be identified. The connection of the Thames Tideway Tunnel earlier this year is expected to reduce the number of wipes flushed into the river during heavy rainfall, while government legislation and changing habits among residents may also be playing a role. But whatever the combination of factors, the drop is pronounced.
This section of foreshore has long been a hotspot for wet wipe accumulation. Sitting on the inside of a bend, the river slows as it curves beneath Hammersmith Bridge, creating a natural trap for material carried downstream. Material builds up on the inside because the water flows faster on the outside and Wet wipes tend to get caught up in larger pieces of debris. Over years, those slower currents allowed wipes to bind together into the infamous “Wet Wipe Island”, a 180-tonne mass that had grown so large it began to alter the shape of the river itself.
A few months ago, diggers were brought in to remove the island. Thames21 estimates that the operation extracted around five million wipes from a 250-metre stretch of riverbed. The latest count is the first major survey since that removal – and the first since the Tideway Tunnel began operating.
The Big Wet Wipe Count is one of Thames21’s most important citizen-science projects. Until the tunnel was connected, rainfall in central London frequently overwhelmed the sewer system, sending “hundreds of thousands of wet wipes into the river where they accumulated on the riverbed.” Regular counts have helped researchers understand the scale of the problem; now, they will help measure the tunnel’s impact.
October’s event ran from 10am to 2pm, beginning outside Riverside Studios on the north side of Hammersmith Bridge. Volunteers of all ages worked in teams to survey designated squares of foreshore and record their findings.
While it is too early to declare victory, the autumn results offer a rare moment of optimism. The Thames has endured decades of pollution, and wet wipes remain a stubborn challenge. But the combination of infrastructure improvements, public awareness and volunteer commitment appears to be beginning to shift the picture.
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