Harry bemoans ‘dirty habit’ of buying fruit and veg wrapped in plastic

THE Duke of Sussex has warned that the purchase of fruit and vegetables wrapped in plastic is a “dirty habit” that has “become normalised”.

He questioned how it had become so common to buy peeled, prepackaged food, noting “it doesn’t make any sense”.

The Duke was speaking to a small group of young activists at a conservation event spearheaded by Dr Jane Goodall, the leading primatologist, at Windsor Castle.

He urged them to question supermarket staff about their packaging policies and the alternatives to plastic.

“I know Waitrose has spent a huge amount of money trying to find different ways to package stuff,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to find everything in plastic. Plastic within plastic. Gone are the days when you can just grab 10 carrots, take them home and give them a shave. Now people are actually buying 10 shaved carrots in a plastic bag. Why? We’ve slipped into this dirty habit and it’s become normalised.”

The Duke, echoing his father’s concerns about plastic pollution, said those companies that had created the problem should take some responsibility and “spend the money they have made selling all this stuff ” to clean it up. “Even better, stop making it and finding alternatives,” he added. The Duke had earlier greeted Dr Goodall, 85, famed for her lifelong study of chimpanzees, with a “chimp greeting” having been taught it when the pair met.

He delivered a speech at the global leadership meeting of her Roots & Shoots initiative, for which students from 26 countries had gathered for a week to work together on various projects. Dr Goodall revealed that the Duke had asked to meet her last year and said she had met the Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie at Frogmore Cottage last month.

The Duke was also asked what peace meant to him and responded: “To be connected to the things that matter the most, rather than being disconnected.”

He said a lack of human connection created “a lack of compassion and empathy for each other” which in turn prompted a lack of understanding about the importance of the ecosystem.