Explore every episode of the podcast Eco Chamber

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS Report’s deputy editor Tess Colley speaks with news editor Pippa Neil. 

After obtaining never-before-seen documents, ENDS Report can reveal that the chemical manufacturer, AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd, is making products containing the banned and carcinogenic forever chemical PFOA, and allowing it to be released into the air. 

The company says that production of the chemical is inadvertent and within regulations – but it is on-going – and Pippa has uncovered that AGC has known about the risk posed to its workers for almost 20 years.

PLUS:  a Reform UK-led council has dropped its climate change emergency declaration on climate skeptic grounds; Natural England has pulled the plug on its hen harrier conservation project and the EA has come out swinging against accusations that it is being pressured to waive through construction projects.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, in a departure from business as usual, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons sits down with the creators of Boy Wasted – a Smoke Trail production for ENDS Report and De Groene Amsterdammer, developed with the support of JournalismFund Europe. 

The investigation started with a photo: a concrete yard with piles of plastic, and lying on the ground was the body of a boy - grotesquely ripped apart.

Who was he? And what really happened to him?  

All three episodes of Boy Wasted can be streamed on the Eco Chamber podcast feed now. 

In this bonus episode, we find out how this story came about and what we as listeners can do next. 

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In this finale episode, the team asks a disturbing question: what if there is not just one body, but hundreds? As the team join the dots between Britain and Turkey, they begin to uncover the awful scale of deaths, lies and secrets that are buried in our recycling.

Boy Wasted is the thrilling three-part environmental true crime investigation, presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor, and brought to you by ENDS Report, Journalismfund Europe and De Groene Amsterdammer. Dan and Lucy bring together a team of award-winning journalists across Europe to pursue the truth about a secret global scandal. 

Presenters and Producers: Dan Ashby, Lucy Taylor and Adnan Khan

Reporters: Tess Colley and Pippa Neill

Sound Design and Series Mixing: Jarek Zaba

Editor: Jamie Carpenter

This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.

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It's a case that doesn’t make any sense: a boy's body found shredded in a bale of plastic, kept entirely secret. The team begin investigating the people who know about the death. When an eye witness comes forward, the allegations get even bigger. 

Boy Wasted is the thrilling three-part environmental true crime investigation, presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor, and brought to you by ENDS Report, Journalismfund Europe and De Groene Amsterdammer. Dan and Lucy bring together a team of award-winning journalists across Europe to pursue the truth about a secret global scandal.

Presenters and Producers: Dan Ashby, Lucy Taylor and Adnan Khan

Reporters: Tess Colley and Pippa Neill

Sound Design and Series Mixing: Jarek Zaba

Editor: Jamie Carpenter

This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a mystery body of a boy is found in a bale of recycled plastic in Turkey, a team of investigative journalists decide to work out what happened. They go looking for answers in industrial yards and dodgy offices, but the story gets more risky. Tensions explode in Istanbul and one of their team is arrested. But they have to know: who was the boy? And could it be linked to Britain?

Boy Wasted is the thrilling three-part environmental true crime investigation, presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor, and brought to you by ENDS Report, Journalismfund Europe and De Groene Amsterdammer. Dan and Lucy bring together a team of award-winning journalists from across Europe to pursue the truth about a secret global scandal.

Presenters and Producers: Dan Ashby, Lucy Taylor and Adnan Khan

Reporters: Tess Colley and Pippa Neill

Sound Design and Series Mixing: Jarek Zaba

Editor: Jamie Carpenter

This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with editor Jamie Carpenter about Reform UK’s party conference hosted at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham over the weekend. 

With prominent fringe events hosted by groups such as the US conservative think-tank, the Heartland Institute, we discuss how climate denialism has permeated Reform UK’s thinking around climate policy.  

And what does it mean now Steve Reed is leading the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government? And who is his replacement at DEFRA? This and more…

PLUS: A new legal opinion casts doubt on Planning Bill protections, a new report suggests sewage capacity fears are holding up housing, and a first-of-a-kind local nature recovery strategy has been published. 

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There's a concrete yard with piles of plastic, and lying on the ground is the body of a boy - grotesquely ripped apart.  

Who was he? And what really happened to him? A team of award-winning investigative journalists set out to find out.

You can listen to all three episodes of Boy Wasted on the Eco Chamber podcast feed from 16 September 2025.

A Smoke Trail production for ENDS Report and De Groene Amsterdammer, developed with the support of JournalismFund Europe. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with deputy editor Tess Colley about the chemicals industry’s attempts to influence UK politicians on regulating forever chemicals. But some experts have warned that their attempts to dissuade politicians from moving against PFAS chemicals like fluoropolymers are using “scaremongering” tactics from the ‘Big Tobacco’ playbook. 

The team will also speak with the Wildlife Trust’s senior land use policy manager Barnaby Coupe about a report published by the charity this week revealing the billions of litres of manure produced every year from intensive pig and poultry farms – and the environmental impact. 

PLUS: The slaughterhouse fined for pouring blood into a stream, the new leader of the Green Party and DEFRA’s new flexi-permit proposals for the industry and energy sectors.  

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, Eco Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with senior reporter Shosha Adie about a proposed golf course in the Scottish Highlands which one watchdog says has habitat-killing potential.

The proposed Couls Link Golf Course at Embo in East Sutherland is backed by billionaire Mike Keiser, business rival of US president Donald Trump. However, in a new setback for developers NatureScot has called for an outright objection to the scheme. What will this mean for the golf course plans?

PLUS: UK Butterfly populations continue their downward spiral, why the chancellor wants a new planning bill, and the legal action launched against a minister’s ‘irrational’ data centre EIA decision.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

For today’s episode we bring you an ENDS exclusive on the levels of toxic forever chemicals detected at English airports described as “alarmingly” high by experts.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of 10,000-strong man-made forever chemicals. They are found in all manner of consumer products, but particularly in firefighting foams.

ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with ENDS Report’s news editor Pippa Neill about her investigation – and what the high levels of PFAS found at airports could mean for nearby drinking water supplies. 

PLUS: DEFRA appoints a new permanent secretary to replace Tamara Finkelstein, what happened at the failed global plastics treaty in Geneva, and the chicken megafarm farm rejected on climate grounds.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

In Scotland, the world’s largest wind farm has been approved.

SSE Renewable’s Berwick Bank offshore wind farm will be constructed 38km off the coast from St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve and close to Bass Rock, which is home to the world's largest island colony of northern gannets.

This week, Eco Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with RSPB Scotland’s head of policy and advocacy Aedán Smith about why the granting of planning permission for the wind farm was “a very dark day for seabirds”.

ENDS deputy editor Tess Colley also discusses the latest developments on the story of controversial plans for gas exploration in North Yorkshire, and why the Environment Agency has dropped its initial objections to the site. 

PLUS: A first-of-a-kind PFAS dataset has been published, the UK Health Security Agency has appointed a new leader, and a push to bring lynx back has its second wind… 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

The pillars of biodiversity net gain - a flagship nature policy - are under stress as the Office for Environmental Protection has warned the government against making any substantive changes to it without safeguards.

This week, Eco Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with net gain expert Natalie Duffus at the University of Oxford about the proposed changes, their potential impacts and the government’s next moves. 

ENDS Report news editor Pippa Neill also discusses an exclusive on the true cost of DEFRA’s digital waste tracking scheme. It was intended to help identify, tackle and prevent waste crime but why has its price tag tripled? 

PLUS: The so-called world’s biggest offshore wind farm has been given the green light in Scotland, the UN’s Global Plastics Treaty in Switzerland has begun, and Yorkshire Water has been fined almost £1m for a ‘catastrophic’ chlorine spill.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

In the last week, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn announced the launch of a new political party with water industry policy front and centre. And earlier this year, Reform UK – running on an anti-net zero mandate – took command of 10 councils in the May local elections.

What approach have these new councils been taking towards net zero policies since Reform took the reins, and what exactly does Corbyn plan to do with the water industry?

This week, Eco Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons, ENDS Report’s news editor Pippa Neill and WWF UK’s head of public affairs David Walsh explore the state of green policies in government and the threats they face at a time of political polarisation and upheaval.

PLUS : A £1.1bn promise to councils to help improve local recycling schemes, a new plan to tackle pet flea treatments, and the Environment Agency consults on reducing forever chemicals in the town with the UK’s highest known levels of PFAS.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS Report’s senior reporter Shosha Adie explains the implications of a major review into the water sector.

Alongside Alistair Chisholm, policy director at CIWEM – The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management – the team also explores the government’s rationale behind its decision to scrap the water regulator Ofwat. 

PLUS: Scotland’s upcoming landfill ban, the Planning Bill amendments you need to know about and the government’s new food strategy. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS Report’s deputy editor Tess Colley reveals her exclusive findings on the toxic sludge being spread on agricultural fields. 

After getting hold of reams of exclusive documents, her investigation has exposed how the government has sat on warnings from the Environment Agency about the threat sludge poses for three years. What were those warnings - and what can the UK learn from sludge scandals in the USA?

PLUS: The Office for Environmental Protection scrutinises other watchdogs’ scrutiny, news on who has been tipped as the Climate Change Committee’s new chairperson, and an update on lead shot.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

On this week’s bonus episode, ENDS’ senior journalist Shosha Adie hosts a dedicated panel on the chemical threats facing our rivers, which includes special guest Dr Robert Bradburne the Environment Agency's chief scientist.

This episode focuses on Bradburne’s thoughts on forever chemicals, artificial intelligence and the agency’s scientific priorities.

PLUS: Interviews with actor and activist Jim Murray, the festival’s organiser Claire Zambuni and water campaigner Ashley Smith of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution on the government’s performance, collaboration and the potential consequences of renationalising Thames Water.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Amy Fairman, head of campaigns at River Action, to explain why her team has taken action against DEFRA over its revised guidance on the Farming Rules for Water.

Will farmers take kindly to being told what to do when it comes to the ‘needs of the soil and crop on the land’? Amy makes her case for why changes are needed. 

We also find out what a smaller-than-hoped-for budget means for the Office for Environmental Protection, and how the watchdog might fare with chairwoman Dame Glenys Stacey stepping down next year

PLUS: We bring you the latest on what the environment secretary thinks of the government’s anti-nature rhetoric, Natural England’s spending boost - and funding cuts as well, and a blueprint to phase out harmful wood-burners and incinerators.

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This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Richard Broadbent, an environmental lawyer and director at Freeths LLP, as they review Natural England’s potential new powers contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. 

Will it enable Natural England to build "an authoritarian empire," as some Conservative peers fear, or could it help unleash the regulator's full potential as a custodian of England’s natural world? 

We also find out what a new interim approach to risk management could mean for PFAS regulation in the UK. 

PLUS: We bring you the news on the latest record-breaking year for hen harriers missing or killed, an update on tree planting rates in England, and why a road upgrade scheme has been thrown out on climate change grounds.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Steve Coulter, head of economy at Green Alliance, as we review the government's new Industrial Strategy. The prime minister says it will "power Britain's future" but there are plenty of challenges ahead. 

We also find out what a new Environment Agency investigation means for the residents of Bentham -- the town in the UK with the highest known levels of PFAS in the UK.

PLUS: The water industry regulator Ofwat is being taken to court over its recent price review, DEFRA has updated its statutory guidance for the Farming Rules for Water, and a judicial review over controversial plans to build a £2.2bn reservoir in Oxfordshire is ready to be heard in the courts.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Ali Plummer, director of policy and advocacy at England’s biggest nature NGO coalition group, Wildlife and Countryside Link, as we take a deep-dive into what came out in the wash from the chancellor's Spending Review – from DEFRA cuts and nature budgets, to billions for nuclear heralding a boom for the sector.

PLUS: a legal victory for river campaigners which is set to change how intensive farms get approved; how a legal challenge against the Planning Bill took a step forward; and some good news for fans of the humble water vole…

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Alyx Elliott, campaigns director at Oceana UK as we analyse the consequences of a proposed extension to England's bottom trawling ban which would see it cover more UK marine protected areas. 

The team also looks at the government's proposed amendments to "instill further confidence" in its new Planning and Infrastucture Bill.

PLUS: the "worst environmental crime scene" in Northern Ireland's history, a new cross-government nature strategy, and a former EA chair’s grudge against toxic farm sludge.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Claire Petricca-Riding, head of environmental law at the legal firm Irwin Mitchell, as we get to grips with the government’s propsed reforms to how the biodiversity net gain regime should apply to small developments.

The team also discusses the first findings of the Water Commission, and why it has recommended a review of the Water Framework Directive.

Plus, Wales’ major new Environment Bill, the claim from DEFRA officials that PFAS updates are on their way, and what happened to a father and son who poked an EA officer in the eye….

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by CHEM Trust senior campaigner, Chloe Alexander, as we analyse the consequences of a ditched chemicals policy and the future of regulation in the UK.

The team also discusses a new scoop on how three tonnes of uranium have been dumped into one of the most highly protected areas of the country.

PLUS: DEFRA is set to begin reform of farming regulations, a new minister for nuclear energy has been appointed, and new data highlights to what extent protected species are really holding up planning applications.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Green Alliance senior fellow, Ruth Chambers, as we analyse the consequences of an internal government review finding that DEFRA’s Environmental Improvement Plan is way off target.

The team also delves into the green potential policy implications of what is being described as a “reset” in UK-EU post-Brexit relations. 

PLUS, we have news on the banning of a PFAS subgroup of chemicals, Anglian Water’s record fine, and the Law Society’s new conveyancing guidance on climate risks.  

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by RSK Wilding's legal counsel Alexa Culver as they breakdown the consequences of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and make sense of what the latest developments mean for the UK’s standing on the international stage. 

Plus, a new US-UK trade deal on agricultural products, a warning to water companies to prepare for ‘possible’ summer droughts and the departure of Dame Glenys Stacey of the Office for Environmental Protection.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The fall out of the local elections and Nigel Farage and Reform UK's plans for net zero.

• A landmark victory for sandeels as environmentalists make sense of the first major post-Brexit legal victory for the marine environment. 

Plus, the Office for Environmental Protection's advice on the Planning Bill, the top DEFRA civil servant to resign this summer, and DEFRA’s first - and much delayed - International Environmental Protection report.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The accusations levelled against Natural England chief executive Marian Spain who has been described as having an “epic misunderstanding” of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and its potential negative impact on wildlife.

• And new analysis of how often historic landfills have flooded over the past 25 years and their potential impact on our health. 

Plus, we breakdown the National Audit Office's warning that DEFRA and its regulators are failing to manage the risks facing the water sector, the Liverpool Bay carbon capture project, and the salad plant accused of polluting a rare chalk stream…

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The attempts being made by MPs to amend the controversial Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
• How documents obtained by ENDS have revealed the repeated environmental breaches at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.

Plus, we get you up to speed on why sewage sludge fertiliser suppliers may be ‘particularly at risk of PFAS litigation in the UK, what the green watchdog said in its submission to a major review of water regulations, and the union leader calling for an urgent meeting with the government over its quango review.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The government's intervention over the running of British Steel in Scunthorpe and its net zero future.
• The return of former environment secretaries - like Micheal Gove - who have ascended to the House of Lords.

Plus, ‘agile’ environmental permitting, ‘local species extinction’ via the Planning Bill, and Westminster's PFAS probe. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The implications of US president Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and the knock-on impacts on net zero policies in the UK.
• How the environment sector has responded to the Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell announcing he is stepping down - while Natural England’s chair Tony Juniper steps up for a third term.

Plus, a landmark legal ruling on rivers; Natural England’s new five-year plan, and DEFRA quangos face existential threat.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The Corry review and the burning consequences for nature and environmental policy. 
• How experts are warning that the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill may breach international environmental law. 

Plus, Alan Lovell's departure as Environment Agency (EA) chair, the government’s £150m ‘employee exit schemes’, and the EA’s dirty waste tyre exports-problem.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• An exclusive on how toxic chemicals from road run-off are spilling within striking distance of protected sites
• What the environment secretary has told MPs about the future cuts needed for the DEFRA Group to remain in budget

Plus, we learn more about the government's new National Action Plan on pesticides, the OEP's reaction to the environmental implications of the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and Tony Juniper’s reappointment as chair of Natural England.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The Treasury’s action plan to cut the administrative burden of red tape and what it means for environmental regulation
• Sir Keir Starmer’s attack on the “watchdog state” where “distinguished jumping spiders” are holding back the development of whole new towns

Plus, we explore how excess phosphates have stung development within a Welsh special area of conservation (SAC), discuss the government’s new reforms to the bathing water regulations, and look at the start of work to clean up plastic nurdles following the collision of two ships last week in the North Sea.

WATCH NOW > LEGACY: How the Environment Act was made – and what its architects think of it now, which is free for a limited time only.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• An exclusive on why the Environment Agency (EA) is struggling to recruit staff to regulate England’s most hazardous sites.
• The big announcements laid bare in the government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill, including its new nature levy.

Plus, how Walleys Quarry owes the EA £600,000, the government's big plans for the North Sea transition away from fossil fuels, and the North Sea tanker collision.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The infamous Walleys Quarry landfill that has entered liquidation.
• The beavers about to be legally released into the wild for first time since their extinction in Britain. 

Plus, COP16 ends with agreement to raise funds for nature recovery, the NFU (National Farmers Union) calls for ‘food impact assessments’ on all planning applications, and the key take-homes from the latest report on agriculture and land use by the government’s climate change advisers.

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A toxic scandal runs through a small town in North Yorkshire - if you pull the thread, where will it lead? In the second part of God’s Own Dark Waters, the team turn the lens on those who were supposed to be protecting Bentham – and find out what’s happened to those living in the shadow of the Angus Fire factory.

For more than a year, award-winning ENDS Report journalist Pippa Neill has been unearthing the toxic truth of how a small Yorkshire market town and its residents found themselves at the centre of a chemical scandal.

Last year, an ENDS Report investigation exposed how the market town of Bentham in North Yorkshire is the most known PFAS-polluted place in the UK. The main employer in the town – a firefighting foam producer called Angus Fire – sits at the heart of the pollution. 

In the second episode of this two-part podcast special, she joins the ECO Chamber podcast’s regular presenter James Agyepong-Parsons to turn the lens on those who were supposed to be protecting Bentham – and find out what’s happened to those living in the shadow of the Angus Fire factory.

Listen now to hear from:

• Bentham residents who say they feel ‘trapped’ after finding out communal gardens nearby the factory are contaminated with PFAS
• Lawyers at the law firms Leigh Day and Mischon de Reya, who are acting on behalf of residents in Bentham to explore potential legal action against Angus Fire
• Campaigner George Monbiot who says that the government is failing to effectively regulate 'forever chemicals'

Read more ENDS Report PFAS investigations:

• God's own Dark Waters? How Bentham became the most PFAS polluted place in the UK 
• Poisoned Pastures: Exposing the chemical russian roulette being played on English farmland
• Chemicals in the Cotswolds: Would you build a primary in the toxic hotspot? 
• ENDS briefing: The PFAS files

God’s Own Dark Waters: Exposing a chemical scandal is an ENDS Report production

Series Producer-- Jamie Carpenter 

Series Producer -- Tess Colley

Producer, Presenter and Researcher -- Pippa Neill

Producer, Presenter and Editor - James Agyepong-Parsons

Artwork -- David Robinson

Studio engineer -- Til Owen

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A toxic scandal runs through a small town in North Yorkshire - if you pull the thread, where will it lead? ENDS Report investigates.

For more than a year, award winning ENDS Report journalist Pippa Neill has been unearthing the toxic truth of how a small Yorkshire market town and its residents found themselves at the centre of a chemical scandal. 

In the first episode of this two-part podcast special, she joins the ECO Chamber podcast’s regular presenter James Agyepong-Parsons to tell the full story of how Bentham’s PFAS pollution problem came to light – and what happened next. 

Last year, Pippa’s groundbreaking investigation exposed how the market town of Bentham in North Yorkshire is the most known PFAS-polluted place in the UK. The main employer in the town – a firefighting foam producer called Angus Fire – sits at the heart of the pollution. 

Listen now to hear from:

• A fire brigade whistleblower who says that concerns about PFAS firefighting foams were shut down by senior management, and discusses their fears about why so many of their colleagues have died of cancer.
• Bentham residents who say they feel ‘trapped’ after finding out communal gardens nearby the factory are contaminated with PFAS.
• Lawyers at the law firms Leigh Day and Mischon de Reya, who are acting on behalf of residents in Bentham to explore potential legal action against Angus Fire.
• The Fire Brigades Union, which discusses how it is carrying out blood testing of union members to test for PFAS. 

READ MORE:

• God's own Dark Waters? How Bentham became the most PFAS polluted place in the UK 
• ENDS briefing: The PFAS files
• MAPPED: The UK sites where PFAS has been detected

God’s Own Dark Waters: Exposing a chemical scandal is an ENDS Report production

Series Producer-- Jamie Carpenter 

Series Producer -- Tess Colley

Producer, Presenter and Researcher -- Pippa Neill

Producer, Presenter and Editor - James Agyepong-Parsons

Artwork -- David Robinson

Studio engineer -- Til Owen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The environment secretary's plans to rewire DEFRA's policy mainframe.  
• And the accounting trick that saw ammonia reductions reached as emissions continue to rise. 

Plus updates on nutrient neutrality in the Supreme Court, Thames Water's multi-billion pound loan and the former EA chief, Sir James Bevan appointed to the board of Welsh Water. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• Reports that No10. wants to review the biodiversity net gain policy in favour of growth. 
• The latest warnings from engineers on how AI may negatively impact our natural environment.
• Plus updates on a new nature-based market; the water companies price review period and Walleys Quarry landfill.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

1. The long awaited Land Use Framework 
2. Why the Heathrow expansion could ‘fly in the face’ of the country’s climate targets
3. And Steve Reed’s update on his environmental improvement plan review

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s declaration of war on ‘green zealots’ and the government’s latest set of planning rule changes.
• DEFRA’s rejection of toxic pesticide Cruiser SB in a win for bees, but not British sugar. 
• And what you need to know about a climate and nature bill push that has been shelved, a newly announced expert panel for the Water review, and disco scallops. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The climate and environment-related actions taken by Donald Trump in his first hours as US president
• The UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ order to environmental regulators to “tear down” regulatory barriers
• And what you need to know about the “non-legal” biodiversity net gain metric currently in circulation, how the OEP has rated the government’s progress on reaching its environmental targets, and what new US guidance on the chemicals within sewage sludge might mean for the UK. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• The landfill laggards sending more than half their black bin waste to landfill 
• How the company at the centre of an ENDS investigation, which exposed the most PFAS-polluted town in the UK, ‘ignored advice’ on forever chemical pollution
• And what you need to know about the lynx set loose in Scotland, how the environment secretary’s new year’s encounter with farmers went, and the landmark water pollution case taking place this week that you need on your radar

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.

This week, ENDS journalists discuss:

• Sir Keir Starmer’s Christmas message for regulators
• The green gongs handed out in the New Year’s Honours list – including some you may not expect
• And what you need to know about why Southern Water has started the new year facing a threat of legal action

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and take a forensic look at one of the deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today.

This week, ENDS journalists look back at:

• The biggest environmental crimes and fines of 2024.
• The farmers sticking salmon up their sleeves
• And the politicians who fumbled their environmental policy pledges during the general election.

For this week’s deep-dive, the team discusses what Labour’s arrival has meant for environmental policy in the UK and what might be ahead. 

This episode was recorded on 6 December 2024. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and take a forensic look at one of the deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today.

This week, ENDS journalists look at:

• Why the language used by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner in the last week in reference to nature protections has prompted a strong backlash from major environmental NGOs. 

• For the news-in-brief: Shell has formed a joint venture with Equinor to ‘extend the life’ of North Sea oil and gas production; Campaigners are disappointed over the housing secretary's green light for M&S’s flagship redevelopment; and the Office for Environmental Protection’s chief executive is “quite astonished by how much environmental law is not complied with”.

For this week's deep-dive, the team explores what the 6,000 abstraction licence breaches recorded in past decade tell us.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and take a forensic look at one of the deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today.

This week, ENDS journalists look at:

• The environmental grant payments suspended by the environment secretary Steve Reed and his plans to set the sector on a new path.

• For the news-in-brief: DEFRA may have broken the law when it comes to giving Cruiser SB the greenlight for farmers; rivers close to sugar beet farms contain the highest levels of neonic pesticides and the failed global treaty to scrap plastics.

For this week’s deep-dive the team discusses the implications of the Environment Agency's decision to issue a closure notice on the notorious Walleys Quarry. 

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and take a forensic look at one of the deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today.

This week, ENDS journalists look at:

• Why farmers are still furious with the government and the big agricultural policy changes slipping under the radar in Wales;
• A milestone moment for the beleaguered recycling policy, the deposit return scheme;
• And the news-in-brief: what you need to know about the outcome of the COP29 climate summit; why chancellor Rachel Reeves is talking nature to the Bank of England; and the biodiversity and climate jobs about to lose funding at the Forestry Commission.

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According to some estimates, the environment sector is among the least diverse profession in the UK, second only to agriculture. 

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the 12 months to June 2024, 93% of environmental professionals were white, and 7% identified as Black, Asian or belonging to an ethnic minority group. 

Surveys have also found evidence of overt and covert racism in the sector.

To understand what lies behind the sector’s problem with race and the implications for the environmental profession and its future, we speak with:

• Manu Maunganidze, the co-director for inclusion and climate Justice at Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) and co-author of the sector’s landmark RACE Report.
• Nadia Shaikh, Right to Roam campaigner and Raven Network organiser.
• Sarah Mukherjee, head of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.
• Edel McGurk, Natural England’s regional director for the south-east and senior champion for the regulator’s ethnicity and race network.

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Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories, and take a forensic look at one of the deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today.

This week, ENDS journalists look at:

• How residents in the UK’s most known PFAS-polluted place are working with lawyers to investigate a first of its kind legal claim

• Why the Office for Environmental Protection believes that water pollution rules for farmers in England “may be unlawful”

• And the news-in-brief: the lowdown on DEFRA’s assessment of the effectiveness of biodiversity net gain exemptions; why pesticide usage data must now be made available to the public; and the chair of the water commission's plan to “restore trust” in the sector. 

In this week’s deep dive, we reveal how a market town in the Cotswolds has a PFAS problem, with high levels of the forever chemicals discovered near land earmarked for hundreds of new homes and a primary school.

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