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Ellie O'Donnell

@ellieodonnell.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.2K following 23 posts

Reporter at Unearthed, Greenpeace UK's investigative journalism project. Used to make TV for BBC and C4.

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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
DeSmog @desmog.com · 30/06/2026
🏆 ‘Detailed and Determined Scoop’: DeSmog Wins Association of British Science Writers’ Award @clarecarlile.bsky.social collects News Item of the Year with @unearthednews.bsky.social's @ellieodonnell.bsky.social & Crispin Dowler👇 www.desmog.com/2026/06/30/d...
desmog.com
‘Detailed and Determined Scoop’: DeSmog Wins Association of British Science Writers’ Award
DeSmog has won ‘News Item of the Year’ award from the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), for its work exposing environmental harms in the UK.  Clare Carlile received the prize with Greenpe...
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Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
We're thrilled that UE and @desmog.com won News Report of the Year in the Association for British Science Writers awards, for this story: unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/07/24/e... Judges described it as “detailed and determined investigation resulting in a scoop that holds its subject accountable.”
unearthed.greenpeace.org
EA staff shortages hit water quality testing
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
DeSmog @desmog.com · 04/06/2026
👾We're shortlisted for the @absw.bsky.social News Item of the Year! ✏️DeSmog's @clarecarlile.bsky.social and @ellieodonnell.bsky.social of @unearthednews.bsky.social reported in July that staff shortages led the Environment Agency to drop 10,000 water quality tests. www.desmog.com/2025/07/23/s...
desmog.com
Staff Shortages Have Forced Major Cuts to Environment Agency Water Quality Monitoring, Internal Documents Reveal
This investigation was published in partnership with Unearthed and the BBC The Environment Agency (EA) has dropped 10,000 water quality tests from its work to ensure the health of England’s rivers and...
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Ellie O'Donnell @ellieodonnell.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Thrilled to be nominated for *two* @absw.bsky.social awards this year 🎉 One with @clarecarlile.bsky.social on Environment Agency staff shortages gutting water quality monitoring, another with @zdboren.bsky.social diving into the UK's sewage sludge issue. Big thanks @crispindowler.bsky.social
absw.org.uk
Meet the finalists – ABSW Awards 2026 | Association of British Science Writers
Who has made it to the finals in the ABSW Awards 2026?
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Thrilled to announce that Unearthed & @greenpeaceafrica.org have been nominated for a One World Environmental Reporting award. 🏆 Our investigation uncovered UK consumers' discarded clothes dumped in protected wetlands in Ghana.
unearthed.greenpeace.org
UK brands found in ‘fast fashion graveyard’ in African conservation area
Clothes discarded by UK consumers and shipped to Ghana have been found in a huge textile dumpsite in a protected African conservation area.
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
On Saturday, The Guardian published a report on the “Ulez bomber” case, where a man was found guilty of blowing up a Ulez camera with a homemade bomb. They cited our 2024 story, which revealed how opposition to Ulez became radicalised inside online groups. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Ulez bomber: the retired electrician who turned bomb-making extremist
Shy 63-year-old’s decision to blow up London traffic camera linked to online conspiracy theories and Islamophobia
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Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
NEW: The Environment Agency has been forced to cancel thousands of water pollution tests over the past three months due to staff shortages Joint investigation by @unearthednews.bsky.social and @desmog.com out today unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/07/24/e...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
EA staff shortages hit water quality testing
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Clare Carlile @clarecarlile.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
🔴 10k water quality tests have been cut by the UK's environmental regulator since May, designed to monitor the impacts of sewage, farm runoff and other pollution on rivers & lakes ✍️with the brill @ellieodonnell.bsky.social for @desmog.com & @unearthednews.bsky.social www.desmog.com/2025/07/23/s...
desmog.com
Staff Shortages Have Forced Major Cuts to Environment Agency Water Quality Monitoring, Internal Documents Reveal
This investigation was published in partnership with Unearthed and the BBC The Environment Agency (EA) has dropped 10,000 water quality tests from its work to ensure the health of England’s rivers and...
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Ellie O'Donnell @ellieodonnell.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
The Environment Agency has dropped 10,000 water quality tests that track the health of rivers and lakes due to staff shortages at their main lab. Latest from me and @clarecarlile.bsky.social
unearthed.greenpeace.org
EA staff shortages hit water quality testing
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
DeSmog @desmog.com · 24/07/2025
🔴 NEW - Staff Shortages Have Forced Major Cuts to Environment Agency Water Quality Monitoring, Internal Docs Reveal Conservationists warn that cancellation of thousands of tests since May will leave a “regulatory and ecological blind spot” 📝 @clarecarlile.bsky.social & @ellieodonnell.bsky.social
desmog.com
Staff Shortages Have Forced Major Cuts to Environment Agency Water Quality Monitoring, Internal Documents Reveal
This investigation was published in partnership with Unearthed and the BBC The Environment Agency (EA) has dropped 10,000 water quality tests from its work to ensure the health of England’s rivers and...
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Water companies are worried about a “backlash” to sludge fertiliser akin to the public outrage they have faced over sewage released into rivers and seas unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/06/09/s...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
‘No Plan B’: Water companies fear pollution crackdown will stop them spreading sewage sludge on farmland
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Crispin Dowler @crispindowler.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Unearthed obtained an internal Environment Agency briefing which warned that farmers could stop accepting sewage sludge on their land due to rising concern about contaminants It says this would have "very serious consequences" as water companies have no "Plan B" for the sludge they produce
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Ellie O'Donnell @ellieodonnell.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
New investigation out today! We’ve learned that water companies are freaking out about the prospect of a government crackdown on agricultural pollution. Why? Because it could stop them dumping millions of tonnes of sewage sludge on the fields that grow our food with @zdboren.bsky.social 1/6 👇
unearthed.greenpeace.org
‘No Plan B’: Water companies fear pollution crackdown will stop them spreading sewage sludge on farmland
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Emma Howard @emmahoward.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
This is a really important & quite shocking, investigation. The water industry is worried that in just 3 years time it may have nowhere to send millions of tonnes of sludge. Sludge is spread on farms but there are now concerning levels of PFAS in it. unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/06/09/s...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
‘No Plan B’: Water companies fear pollution crackdown will stop them spreading sewage sludge on farmland
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Ellie O'Donnell @ellieodonnell.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Water companies are panicking that they could be left with a mountain of sludge with ‘nowhere to go’ Latest from me and @zdboren.bsky.social unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/06/09/s... Also on the BBC: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
‘No Plan B’: Water companies fear pollution crackdown will stop them spreading sewage sludge on farmland
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Zach Boren @zdboren.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
water comanies are freaking out that they're about to have millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge with 'nowhere to go' my latest for @unearthednews.bsky.social with @ellieodonnell.bsky.social unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/06/09/s...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
‘No Plan B’: Water companies fear pollution crackdown will stop them spreading sewage sludge on farmland
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
🚨 REVEALED: An Unearthed investigation has found major brands continued to promote environmental claims months or years after they were ruled “misleading” by the UK ad watchdog: unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/05/14/m...
A Virgin Atlantic plane lands in New York; the company is one of five that have apparently continued to promote environmental claims that were ruled "misleading" by the Advertising Standards Authority. Photo: Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images
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Richa Syal @richasyal.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
What’s the point of banning greenwashing if big brands can just carry on? Our latest investigation has found major brands have continued to promote green claims, months or even years after they were ruled “misleading” by the UK ad watchdog: unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/05/14/m...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
Revealed: Companies repeat misleading green claims despite UK ad bans
Major brands, including car manufacturers, an airline, and a bottled water company have apparently continued to promote environmental claims after they were ruled “misleading” in a crackdown on greenw...
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Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
BREAKING: More than 100 old landfills across England containing potentially hazardous material have flooded at least once this century. Experts have raised concerns that dangerous substances could get into the environment through floodwater. unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/04/26/h...
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Ellie O'Donnell @ellieodonnell.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Old landfills can contain all kinds of nasties like industrial waste, persistent pollutants and pharmaceuticals. Our research reveals that 100+ dump sites with potentially hazardous contents flooded across England since 2000. unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/04/26/h...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
Over 100 potentially toxic landfills have flooded since 2000
Scientists raise concerns about the risks posed by historic landfills as climate change increases flooding
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Joe Sandler Clarke @jsandlerclarke.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
New from me and @ellieodonnell.bsky.social Historic landfills pose a looming environmental threat We found over 2,600 sites with potentially hazardous waste close to watercourses across England And over 100 sites that have flooded since 2000 unearthed.greenpeace.org/2025/04/26/h...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
Over 100 potentially toxic landfills have flooded since 2000
Scientists raise concerns about the risks posed by historic landfills as climate change increases flooding
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Reposted by Ellie O'Donnell
Lucy Jordan @lucyjordan.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
I have been reporting on deforestation in Brazil for years. Last year, along with @aliceross.bsky.social and Naira Hofmeister, I decided to dig into beef giant JBS’s flagship promise: to eliminate deforestation from its Amazon supply chain by the end of 2025. So what’s actually changed?
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Emma Howard @emmahoward.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Hello Bluesky!🔵Starting on here the way I mean to go on... Investigation out today: as UN plastic treaty talks kick off in S Korea, we dug into the organisation launched by the oil & plastic industries to "end plastic waste". Spoiler: it's not managed to unearthed.greenpeace.org/2024/11/20/a...
unearthed.greenpeace.org
Companies behind campaign to ‘end plastic waste’ produced 1,000 times more plastic than it cleaned up
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste spent five years clearing up the amount of plastic its key oil and chemical members produce in two days
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Unearthed @unearthednews.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
👋 Hello Bluesky! 👋 We're a team of environmental journalists backed by Greenpeace UK. We investigate fossil fuels, intensive farming, greenwash, and pollution. Catch up on our back catalogue here: unearthed.greenpeace.org
unearthed.greenpeace.org
Investigative journalism from Greenpeace UK
Environmental news and investigations brought to you by Unearthed, Greenpeace UK's award-winning, editorially-independent journalism team.
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