With up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans yearly and 80% of this estimated to come from land – likely from rivers [1], it’s hardly surprising that the River Thames is full of rubbish.
In honour of Oceans of Plastic Day on Tuesday 22nd November, the team at Barratt London have taken a deep dive into the waters to reveal how much waste has been building up in the Thames and how much of this could have been recycled.
What waste items are found most in the Thames?
The study explored the waste items found in the Thames that shouldn’t have ended up there as well as the top lightweight items that have been fished from the river.
The research also delved into which areas are wet wipe, plastic bag, and general waste hotspots.
Plastic wet wipes are reported to be the most littered item in the river and when mixed with mud they form slimy layers. One of these mounds was 1.4 meters which covered 1000m2, which is the equivalent to four tennis courts.
Hammersmith Bridge Southside landed the top spot for wet wipes with Newcastle Draw Dock coming out on top for plastic bags whilst Small Profits Dock takes the top spot for floating waste.
The research also found that single-use plastics make up 83% of all items found in the Thames foreshore.
Wet wipe, plastic bag, and floating waste hotspots:
| Rank | Wet Wipe Hotspots | Plastic Bag Hotspots | Floating Waste Hotspots |
| 1 | Hammersmith Bridge Southside | Newcastle Draw Dock | Small Profits Dock |
| 2 | Fulham Football Club | 02 Flats in Greenwich | Queen Caroline Draw Dock |
| 3 | Battersea Bridge | Galleons Point | Crabtree Wharf |
The study found that food wrappers are the top lightweight item, with them making up a fifth (20%) of all lightweight items floating on the foreshore of the Thames between 2015-2018. Cotton bud sticks make up 16% of the total litter found in the Thames. Cups (both plastic and polystyrene) equate to 9% of the total litter found.
Although drink bottles make up 3% of the Thames, surprisingly, water bottles represent almost half of all drink bottles found in the Thames. However, it’s not all doom and gloom – a total of 97,019 drinks bottles were recorded and removed between 2016-2019.
Top lightweight items found in the Thames:
| Top Lightweight items found | % of the total litter found |
| Food Wrappers | 20% |
| Cotton Bud Sticks | 16% |
| Cups (includes plastic and polystyrene) | 9% |
| Bottle Lids | 8% |
| Take-away Containers (includes plastic and polystyrene) | 8% |
| Drinks Bottles | 3% |
| Building Insulation (polystyrene / foam) | 2% |
| Straws | 2% |
| Cigarette Butts | 2% |
| Lollipop Sticks | 1% |
Piotr Prazych, commercial director at Barratt West London, said: “The study brought to light the items that should not be residing in the Thames – that could have very easily been recycled instead.
We hope this new knowledge of how much waste is in the river will make a lot of people think twice about dumping rubbish into the Thames.”
You can find more information on what’s inside the Thames here.
