Europe's plastic disaster

Rare earths are to the 21st century what coal was to the 19th and oil to the 20th. Our everyday electronics - and Europe's climate goals - depend on them. But China controls almost all supply chains. Can Europe free itself from this dependence? Reporters Eurydice Bersi and Attila Kálmán discuss the findings of our latest investigation, in conversation with Maxence Peigné.

Europeans produce an average of 35kg of plastic packaging waste each per year and global plastic use is expected to triple by 2060. In reality, most of the packaging and shopping bags amassed in daily life are never recycled and instead end up in landfills or incinerators. This podcast from our Wasteland investigation sorts fact from fiction and unpacks the true extent of Europe's mounting plastic waste crisis.

Nonostante gli sforzi per aumentare i tassi di riciclaggio, ogni anno, nell'UE si producono circa 30 milioni di tonnellate di rifiuti di plastica, ma solo il 32% circa della plastica viene riciclata. In questo episodio, i giornalisti di IE Maria Maggiore e Lorenzo Buzzoni indagano sugli aspetti più critici della cosiddetta economia circolare. Dal rinnovato interesse dei colossi dell’Oil & Gas verso la petrolchimica e la plastica, ai conflitti di interesse delle organizzazioni di responsabilità dei produttori e il loro ruolo discutibile nella raccolta dei rifiuti, passando per le difficoltà che affrontano le autorità nel contrastare il crescente traffico illegale di rifiuti all’interno dell’UE, i due giornalisti svelano i motivi per cui la quantità di plastica continua a crescere in Europa e mostrano l’insensatezza di politiche della gestione dei rifiuti come quelle che incentivano l’uso degli inceneritiori, nonostante le difficoltà nel valutare il loro reale impatto sull’ambiente, o che si oppongono all’entrata in funzione di sistemi efficienti come il deposito su cauzione per le bottiglie di PET già presente nel Nord Europa.

In questo episodio diamo un’occhiata ai risultati della nostra ultima inchiesta, Untaxed. I giornalisti di IE Maria Maggiore e Lorenzo Buzzoni danno una panoramica dei risultati ottenuti, concentrandosi sull’Italia e su Milano, dove atterra la maggior parte degli investimenti nel real estate italiano.

At a time of rising living costs across Europe, the search for affordable housing is becoming an increasingly onerous task for millions of Europeans. IE reporter Paulo Pena oversaw the investigation and he joins the podcast to discuss the findings.

Nos reporters Leïla Miñano et Maxence Peigné explorent les premières révélations faites par Investigate Europe et son partenaire Disclose, dans le cadre de notre enquête sur Perenco, premier groupe pétrolier indépendant d'Europe.

Europe is stuck in a toxic relationship. For decades, farmers have relied on chemicals to produce the food that feeds the continent, but their use remains largely unchecked. Journalist Harald Schumann joins the podcast to discuss the findings of Investigate Europe's newest investigation.

Pour mieux comprendre ce système établi par le leader mondial du grand âge et ses cadres historiques, nous interrogeons nos journalistes qui ont enquêté pendant plusieurs mois sur ce scandale : Leïla Minano, notre correspondante en France, et Maxence Peigné, notre reporter basé à Londres.

In 2021, Investigate Europe released an investigation about the for-profit elder care industry. It detailed how, even though many care homes are understaffed, and there aren’t adequate resources for residents, international corporations and financial investors continue to make huge gains. One name that kept popping up was Orpea: one of the world’s largest care home providers. It has a presence in 23 countries, with 1,100 medical facilities. IE’s journalists have followed this story since and were now able to reveal how Orpea has relied on a secret Luxembourg company called Lipany, and how some of its top managers carried out dubious operations through a network of companies connected to Lipany. This first #OrpeaSecrets publication was followed up with reporting on how Orpea used the same network to cover up lavish commission payments to intermediaries for new care homes in France. To understand more about what’s going on with this scandal-ridden company, we speak with two reporters who have doggedly pursued this story. Leïla Minano, IE’s reporter for France, and Maxence Peigné, IE newsfeed reporter.

Armare l'UE - la lunga strada verso una difesa unita