The Paris 2024 Olympics has set out to use its moment on the world’s stage to promote sustainability. Part of its multi-step effort to do so involves seating 11,000 spectators in chairs made from recycled plastic material.
The Olympic Games are often regarded as a spectacular celebration of human ability, watched by millions around the world. But throughout the last decade, the event has borne the brunt of great scrutiny due to its negative environmental impact.
A quick Google search reveals thousands of articles and studies which outline the worsening environmental impact of Olympic events throughout the years, including details about their contribution to climate change, deforestation, and water pollution.
Many point out that the Games have become ‘less eco-friendly’ in recent times, with others labelling the event a ‘disastrous’ ‘modern plague’ due to its resource-intensive nature.
With next year’s Games fast approaching, fresh details are emerging about the ways in which organisers are working to make the event the most sustainable yet. They’ll have a lot to answer for, as many called eco-efforts at the previous Winter Olympics a ‘superficial’ attempt at sustainability.
From the outset, the organisers of the upcoming event committed to reducing its environmental impact by minimising the number of new builds it created. In Paris, 95 percent of venues used for the 2024 Summer Games already exist or will be put in place temporarily.
In one of the latest developments, organisers have announced that a total of 11,000 spectators in two stadiums, Arena at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris and the Olympic aquatic centre in Saint-Denis, will be seated in recycled plastic chairs.
This decision, however, was born out of necessity – not an outright conscious decision to cut back on the use of virgin plastics during the event.
According to local suppliers, local French manufacturers were experiencing shortages of virgin plastic materials. With demands for virgin plastics ceasing to disappear, companies were forced to turn to recycled waste – or stop producing plastic-based products altogether.
This is how Olympics organisers began working with eco-solutions company Lemon Tri, based in Paris, and the local eco-construction firm Le Pavé. The two companies collaborated on an idea to source plastic waste from various recycling bins around the city.
Bringing the project to life, they collected over 100 tons of recycled plastic from local schools and street-side bins in the area called Seine-Saint-Denis. The waste was then processed and reconstructed at facilities in the same neighbourhood by Lemon Tri and Le Pavé.
Using machinery, single-use bottles and other types of plastic waste were shredded down into tiny plastic pellets.
The next step involved mixing the multi-coloured shavings together before heating them up, in order to achieve even distribution of colours. The warm, malleable substance could then be later compressed into plastic sheets and left to cool.
The final product results in large white or black plastic sheets speckled with various colours. These sheets are then sanded down and sent to another local company to be shaped and assembled.
And voila! From this local project, 11,000 Olympic chairs are made.
‘When we tell children to come and put your bottles in the bins, tomorrow they’ll be in the seats of the Olympic swimming pool, it raises awareness about the importance of upcycling waste,’ said the co-founder of Lemon Tri, Augustin Jaclin.
There’s no doubt that this system is a great initiative and lesson in sustainability, the kind that young French children will remember for years to come. But it’s very telling that turning to upcycled materials wasn’t the Olympics’ organisers’ first choice.
As we continue through a year where the effects of climate change have never been more evident, it will be interesting to see how the environmental impact of next summer’s Games ranks on the sustainability index overall.
We’ll be keeping our eyes on the ball for more updates sure to come.
I’m Jessica (She/Her). Originally from Bermuda, I moved to London to get a Master’s degree in Media & Communications and now write for Thred to spread the word about positive social change, specifically ocean health and marine conservation. You can also find me dipping my toes into other subjects like pop culture, health, wellness, style, and beauty. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.
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