Chemical geographies

My research on chemicals and pollution addresses the ways chemicals are sensed, managed, and governed in everyday practice (see Publications). Collaborator Emma Garnett and I have developed a feminist transdisciplinary framework for doing this work (see Catalyst)

I am involved in interdisciplinary groups developing interventions in chemical governance. This includes the International Panel on Chemical Pollution and the Pharma Pollution Hub. I am also an Observer of the UNEP Open Ended Working Group for the Science Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution Prevention.

Trans-disciplinary experiments

I have recently been appointed by WETSUS (the European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology) to expand the role of social science and develop the centre’s transdisciplinary praxis. As the resident social scientist, I will be regularly visiting the centre in Leeuwarden across 2024. More to come!

COVID-19 Waste Project

The COVID-19 Waste Project aimed to address the impact of COVID-19 on waste infrastructures and sanitation workers. Funded by the ESRC as part of UKRI’s rapid response to COVID-19, it built partnerships with industry and government. The project co-produced guidance for the waste sector’s pandemic response through workshops and interviews with policy makers; environmental regulators; waste managers; unions; and NGOs. I worked in collaboration with Steve Hinchliffe at Exeter Geography, along with co-investigators at Nottingham, KCL, and the Open University. You can find our first publication on the project in Critical Public Health.

Toxic Commons

I am working collaboratively with environmental historian Simone Müller (Augsburg) around the concept of the ‘toxic commons’. We are developing interdisciplinary methodologies for collectively making sense of industrial legacies that are “too hard” to remediate.

We consolidated this work through a Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies at Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich in the summer of 2022, and are in the process of developing a new project.