Prince Charles Makes A Smug Remark About Plastic Recycling
Prince Charles doesn’t want to be that guy who says “I told you so” about encouraging the United Kingdom to recycle plastics, but he’s going to do it anyway. The heir to the throne says that he has made the environment and recycling his pet project for over 40 years and hopes now more people will listen.
Express says that the prince tried to avoid being snarky and smug when he reminded the press that he’s been yelling this advice from the rooftops since Philip Hammond wanted to include plastic recycling in the British budget decades ago. Prince Charles says that when he “raised his head above the parapet,” people thought he was out of touch.
“I don’t really see any value in saying ‘I told you so’. As a teenager, I remember feeling deeply about this appalling excessive demolition job being done on every aspect of life.”
The oldest son of Queen Elizabeth has been touring the commonwealth to urge, nag, and cajole the public to take recycling seriously, and now he feels vindicated.
“In putting my head about the parapet on these issues, and trying to remind people of their long-term tireless relevance – never mind trying to do something about them – I found myself in conflict with the conventional outlook, as I discovered, is not exactly the most pleasant situation to find yourself in.”
There are worse qualities that a future head of state can have than a fondness for planting trees. https://t.co/1mt82jqDSc
— Tom Holland (@holland_tom) October 30, 2018
Prince Charles’ pronouncement follows a new tax announced by the chancellor on unrecyclable plastics and a proposal to ban plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds. Prince Charles advocates taking the next steps as the previous ones have born fruit. Since the U.K. instituted the plastic bag tax, residents now use an average of 25 bags a year instead of 140 in years before the tariff.
The prince says that he felt like an oddball back in the ’70s ranting about the environment, but now he knows it was the right thing to do and wishes he had felt more confident about his convictions 40 years ago.
“If we don’t engage with these issues, we will all become victims. Nobody escapes.”
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Prince Charles says that now that he’s in his 70s, he truly sees no benefit in telling people he was right all along because it doesn’t move the ball down the field. He says life is moving by too fast.
“Anyone of my age knows that days pass at a far greater speed than when they were young. But in my case, there are so many things that need to be done.”
