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Pollution affects us all, from the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the food we eat. Sometimes it may not be very noticeable that we’re breathing in polluted air, for example, but pollution is actually the largest environmental cause of multiple mental and physical diseases, as well as premature deaths, particularly amongst children, people with certain medical conditions and elderly citizens. In Europe, noise pollution is the type of pollution most commonly complained about by citizens, but odour pollution is also a regular bugbear for many. However, it is poor air quality that is arguably the most pressing environmental challenge in many European countries – according to one 2018 report from the European Environment Agency (EEA), poor air quality is responsible for over 400 000 premature deaths in the EU each year.

The use of chemical products for plant protection and growth may be a thing of the past as an EU-funded project gears up to take their biopesticide and biostimulant products to market.

A brand-new app to help citizens monitor and identify the sources of odour pollution is being offered by the D-NOSES project. The project’s work is a welcome step forward in a field where some have argued that inaction has prevailed for too long.