‘Keen for the wider Royal Household to follow his example’

Prince William has added microplastic filters to the laundry appliances at his family’s royal residences, the Independent reported.

The Prince of Wales visited Matter, a Bristol, England, company that reached the finals of the 2025 Earthshot Prize. The company’s filtration technology stops tiny plastic particles from flowing out of laundry machines and into waterways.

Matter’s founder, Adam Root, built the first version of his device on a dining table in his mother-in-law’s home after The King’s Trust gave him a £250 ($340) grant. The company now has a team of about 50 employees.

Microplastics shed from synthetic fabrics during each wash cycle pose a serious threat to aquatic life. These minuscule fibers travel through drains, slip past water treatment facilities, and eventually pile up in rivers and oceans, where fish and other marine creatures consume them.

The filters are now installed at three royal properties: Forest Lodge at Windsor Great Park (where William and Kate moved with their children last autumn), Anmer Hall in Norfolk, and their London apartment at Kensington Palace.

During his visit, William saw a clump of reddish microfibers pulled from just 10 laundry cycles. He viewed containers full of plastic particles collected from textile manufacturing equipment.

“I’m genuinely horrified,” William said, per the Independent. “I can’t get over the size. It is absolutely atrocious. Companies must have known how much stuff they are washing away.”

The prince is now pushing for other royals to adopt the technology. GB News royal correspondent Cameron Walker shared on the social platform X: “I understand he is keen for the wider Royal Household to follow his example.”

If you want to cut down on microplastics leaving your home, look for washing machine filters or laundry bags designed to trap synthetic fibers. Running shorter cycles with cold water can limit the number of particles that break free from your clothes.

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