Prince Charles has called for an "urgent" change to plastic packaging as he made an impassioned plea to save the environment.
Prince Charles
The 68-year-old royal spoke of the importance of finding an "innovative" way to re-design products and encouraging people to recycle in a bid to save the world's oceans as he attended a meeting hosted by the International Sustainability Unit (ISU) and Business in the Community.
Addressing those who were in attendance, he said: "One critical part, as I see it, of the transition towards a circular economy, particularly in relation to plastics, is that of innovation and the need to re-think the way we design products. This would entail moving from a model that encourages a buy, use, throw-away mentality, to one that facilitates re-use, recovery and regeneration.
"We do need to consider, from the very beginning, the second, third and, indeed, fourth life of the products we use in everyday life. I appreciate that this is easier to say than do, so I was particularly interested to hear the key findings from the design workshop held in various locations across London this week.
"I have always been a great believer in the 'Seeing is believing' idea, so I very much hope that your 'field' visits left you feeling inspired to create new solutions within your organisations that are supported by your senior executives, many of whom - I am very grateful to see - are around the table today. Given how critical the design phase of a product's life is to its later environmental impact, I can hardly overstate how important I think this work is and I know that my ISU. stands ready to help continue to facilitate these conversations."
And the Prince of Wales - who is heir to the British throne - spoke of the importance of moving towards a "circular economy".
He explained: "It is impossible not to re-state how urgent it is, in my view, that we move towards a 'circular economy', particularly when considering ways to address the seemingly unending flow of plastic into our oceans. We already know the extent of the damage that this is having on marine life today, and if current trends continue, the implications for the viability of the ocean ecosystem, on which humankind relies so heavily, are stark indeed."
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