London's Thames River is undergoing a massive cleanup of a 820-foot shoreline dubbed "Wet Wipe Island," composed of 180 tons of congealed waste. This is the UK's first large-scale mechanical removal of wet wipes from a river, following years of volunteer efforts. The cleanup, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, uses a "rake and shake" method to remove the wipes without harming the riverbed. This initiative coincides with the UK's planned ban on plastic wet wipes in 2026, aiming to prevent future pollution and protect the Thames' ecosystem, which has significantly recovered since being declared "biologically dead" in 1957.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.