Increasing number of wet wipes washing up on UK beaches
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 5:59 PM - The number of wet wipes washing up on UK beaches increased by 50% in 2014, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual beach cleanup report.
"Much of the litter we find on our beaches starts off in our bathrooms – it’s a disgusting thought, but it’s true," the report says.
"In 2014 the number of wet wipes found on UK beaches increased by more than 50% compared to 2013 – 35 of them in every kilometre ... There’s a common misconception that [wet wipes are] all flushable – but wet wipes don’t break down like toilet tissue because they are made of tougher fibres. Some even contain plastic such as polyester."
RELATED: Bus-sized "fatberg" found in suburban London sewer!
Conservationists are concerned about the impact the wet wipes could have on wildlife, which may mistake the fibres for food.
“When marine wildlife eats that plastic, which they quite often do, it just stays in the stomach of the animals and quite often they just die of starvation,” Charlotte Coombs of MCS told The Guardian.
The wipes can also accumulate and lead to massive blockages referred to as 'fatbergs.'
In September, Utility company Thames Water released a set disgusting pictures of a "fatberg" that took one week to remove from a West London sewer.
The blockage formed under a 80 metre stretch of Shepherd’s Bush Road. Authorities claimed it was the size of a Boeing 747 airplane.
The MCS report, which was released Thursday, strongly advises people to put all waste in the trash bin -- and not down the toilet.
"If we all kept to that simple rule our beaches would be a whole lot cleaner," MCS says.
Source: MCS | The Guardian
RELATED VIDEO: CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GREAT LAKES:
