Prince William has installed a microplastic-capturing device on the washing machines at his Windsor home following a visit to Bristol-based climate technology company Matter, an Earthshot Prize finalist developing filtration systems to prevent microplastics from entering waterways.
The Prince of Wales visited Matter after the Wales family moved to Forest Lodge, their new eight-bedroom residence in Windsor Great Park, in autumn from Adelaide Cottage. During the visit, William expressed being "genuinely horrified" when staff demonstrated the volume of microfibres released during washing. He was shown a ball of red microfibres from an estimated 10 washes of red towels, two plastic boxes of microfibres from textile manufacturing machines, and a bottle containing microfibres from 10 domestic washes.
«I'm genuinely horrified. I can't get over the size. It is absolutely atrocious. Companies must have known how much stuff they are washing away,» William said during the demonstrations.
From £250 grant to royal installation
Matter was founded by Adam Root from Essex, who initially developed the filtration system with a £250 grant from The King's Trust. The company now employs around 50 people and is focused on scaling its business with brand partners. The device has also been installed at the Wales family's other properties, including Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace in London.
When presented with a bottle of microfibres captured from washing machines, William replied: «I'm very glad we had our filters on our washing machines.» He told staff at Matter: «You should be really proud. You must be excited where it is headed. This is really going places, it is incredible, well done.»
William indicated he is keen for The King to install the device at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences. After visiting Matter, the Prince also toured Isambard-AI, the UK's most powerful supercomputer, developed by the University of Bristol and NCC. Professor Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor and president of the University of Bristol, said: «We were delighted to share with Prince William how this work is already making a real difference to people's lives, and how our teams are striving every day to create positive change for communities here in the UK and around the world.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).