It could almost be the scene of a picture postcard: old boats dotted around the French coastline, moving with the tide. But their environmental impact is a lot less charming. Most boats are made of fibreglass, plastics and resins, making them difficult to recycle. But is there another way? Can sustainable boating set sail? We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth. 

They can be found on raincoats, non-stick pans and plastic packaging. In the last 50 years, PFAS – short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – have made their way into many of our everyday objects. Dubbed "forever chemicals", they're extremely persistent and can stay in the air, water and soil for decades, harming the environment and ultimately our health. Is PFAS pollution irreversible? And what can we do to protect ourselves? We take a closer look in the edition of Down to Earth.

It has ravaged farms, decimated wild birds and spilled onto mammals. Could avian flu spark the next human pandemic? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.

Billions of tiny plastic beads, known as nurdles, have been washing up on beaches in the north of Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast. This is the result of industrial pollution on a massive scale. To understand how this form of pollution has gone undetected for so long, the Down to Earth team traveled to Tarragona, Spain, where massive nurdle spills have been reported.

If you think fishing nets are made of natural rope, think again — they're made of plastic. Every year, some 80,000 km² of nets are lost and abandoned at sea. As they drift aimlessly, these so-called "ghost nets" litter the ocean floor and trap nearly everything in their path. We take a closer look in this Edition of Down to Earth.