Don't look now, but you're surrounded. Really. Within arm's reach—probably even touching you—are troublesome, sticky, potentially even toxic, substances. Bad for the planet, permanent, maybe even bad for your health. They're in your shoes, in your phone, in your laptop, lurking in the folds of envelopes, on books, in the chair you're sitting in, the flooring beneath your feet, and in uncountable other objects in your house, office and everyday world.