Prince of Wales Earthshot Prize win would be ‘like gold medal’

Winning a global award set up by the Prince of Wales would be like getting “an Olympic gold medal”, a finalist has said.

Bristol-based Matter is one of 15 finalists shortlisted for the Earthshot Prize awards, which celebrates people finding solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.

The company focuses on microplastic filtration technology and has engineered washing machine filters that stop harmful microplastics entering our waterways.

Commenting on this year’s ceremony, which will be held in Brazil on 5 November and where five finalists will be awarded £1m, Matter’s Anthony Kolanko said: “It’s a bit like winning an Olympic gold medal in environmental entrepreneurship.”

He added: “To get that recognition from peers is fantastic for the business, but also just to shine a spotlight on the problem as a whole is a great thing.”

The annual competition was launched by Prince William in 2020 and looks at solutions to issues from different countries and sectors, with Matter nominated in the Revive Our Oceans category.

Matter’s head office is in Bristol and the business started off building filters for household washing machines, but has since raised more than £15m for its work and employs about 45 people.

Microplastics are extremely small pieces of debris in our environment created from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste.

Mr Kolanko, who is the company’s chief revenue officer, said microplastics are now polluting our oceans and can be found in our drinking water, which is harmful for our bodies.

“We’re now finding this pollutant in our blood, in our organs, even our breast milk, and it’s causing real harm,” he added.

“So if we can capture it at [the] source, hopefully we can get a better, healthier environment.”

Unlike traditional filters, Matter’s filter system is self-cleaning and is already being used domestically for washing machines.

Matter was set up by engineer Adam Root, who recently told the BBC his invention was created at his mother-in-law’s dining table.

The filter can be attached to the back of a machine and catch the escaping debris pieces by using a water blade extracting the microplastics. What remains is a recyclable sludge substance which is caught by the filter.

The Earthshot Prize awards recognised Matter because their specific microplastic filter is stopping debris entering our waterways, which is costs effective and low in carbon emissions.