London Olympics waste report

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 – the independent organisation monitoring the sustainability of the London Olympic Games project – has published a report on the approach taken to waste management and infrastructure, which shows that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) are on course to achieve construction waste goals. The report praises the work done so far towards ensuring a zero-waste-to-landfill games, but warns that other measures must be taken to ensure that the post-games waste is disposed of properly too. Shaun McCarthy, Chair of the Commission, said: ‘The good news is that the ODA and LOCOG are both working towards ambitious targets. If achieved, this ambition and dedication will make the 2012 Games an exemplar of how to run a sustainable event and will set brand-new green standards for future Games. Our concerns are that while all this good work is going on inside the venues, waste in the areas immediately surrounding the venues could be forgotten about. There needs to be a consistently high standard and this means more collaboration between stakeholders and organisers.’ The ODA is exceeding targets to reuse or recycle 90% of demolition waste and meeting its 90% landfill diversion target for construction waste. It is using 34% recycled materials which is well above its target of 20%. The Commission is concerned that there is a need for careful coordination and management of the Post-Games dismantling and transformation process to ensure that sustainability standards are maintained and that nothing is lost between different areas of responsibility. The Commission recommends that a target is set for the reuse of assets and materials for the dismantling and transformation phases. A future challenge is for these standards to be maintained at the venues outside of LOCOG’s control such as the ‘live sites’ where the public will gather to watch the Games. City Operations teams across Britain will have to start addressing these issues in the near future.