Dannevirke man chats with Harry and Meghan in Melbourne

Former Dannevirke man Ross Headifen (left), who grew up at Rua Roa, meeting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on South Melbourne Beach on Thursday as he introduced them to the BeachPatrol programme. Photo / Supplied

For former Dannevirke man Ross Headifen, meeting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on a Melbourne beach was an experience of a lifetime.

On Thursday, Ross and his wife Ramona chatted to Harry and Meghan at South Melbourne Beach and introduced them to school children volunteers who help clean the beach.

"We talked with the royal couple about single use plastics in our oceans and the over-use of plastic and having to make manufacturers responsible for their products, and not ignoring them once they are sold," Ross said.

"It was a really wonderful day and a fantastic experience. We had six school students out on the sand beach with a BeachPatrol bag full of a particular type of plastic litter, straws, bottle tops, coffee cups and lids, other plastic cups, plastic bottles and balloons. The royals talked to those students for a while about the type of litter they had, where it came from and what can we do to stop this."

Another group of 10 students with Ross' wife Ramona, armed with clipboards, survey sheets and BeachPatrol collection bags also had a chance to chat with the royal couple.

"The royals chatted to the students for a while about what they were about to do," Ross said.

"Then we walked Harry and Meghan back to the departure point and had a longer chat with them. Harry was telling us how he used to go out with his father and pick up plastic off the beaches and I'm thinking this is Price Charles he's talking about, this is so surreal.

"Harry was emphatic we should not have to do this for the next 20 years. We have to take action now to stop the plastic on our beaches and in our oceans. It was an unbelievable experience."

In 2014, Dr Headifen's company Fieldtech Solutions took out the Victoria Premier's sustainability award for innovative products.

The company's philosophy is to not leave the plastic products used by this generation for future generations.