Kansas Green Guide Your Bi-Weekly Guide to Sustainable Living

2012 London Olympics Go Green August 3, 2012 The 2012 Olympic Games in London arent just about swimming and gymnastics. Theyre also a chance to show the world what can be done with environmental stewardship at one monstrous event. Organizers of this years event claim it will be the most sustainable Olympics to date, and theyve spent years planning how to make it so from how Olympic Stadium was constructed to the food served at the games to the transportation options offered. The Basketball Arena in London is one of the most striking venues of the 2012 Olympics, with a completely white exterior that can be illuminated with a variety of colors from the inside. But after the Olympics, it'll be torn down. The 12,000-seat arena, which cost an estimated $65 million, could signal a new era of Olympic planning where host cities opt to build cheap, green venues that are completely temporary. Past Olympic host cities, like Beijing, are filled with abandoned arenas that fell out of disuse right after the games. Even the Bird's Nest the signature structure of the last Olympics is now barely used. But venues like the Basketball Arena won't sit empty for years to come, are less expensive to build, and are (perhaps most importantly) vastly more green than their predecessors. Two-thirds of the materials used in the Basketball Arena the biggest temporary venue of the games are recyclable, according to the architecture firm that built it. The white facade of the building is made of 110-foot by 24-foot pieces of PVC (a type of plastic), that can be used in future temporary arenas or as raw material. The arena also has a rock-based foundation instead of permanent support piles. So once the arena is gone there are plans to build 800 housing units on the site. Heres a look at some of the other interesting green practices springing up at this years summer games: Sustainable fish Roughly 14 million meals are expected to be served at this years Olympics, and many of those will likely be fish and chips. All caterers at the Olympics were required to serve sustainably sourced fish, which often meant finding new sustainable fishery suppliers. Sustainable seafood is that which is harvested at a sustainable rate, as to not deplete the worlds dwindling supply. Zero Waste London has billed itself the first zero waste Olympics, and the organizers put out several reports explaining how they planned to make that happen. It included ambitious recycling and reusing programs, as well as reducing packaging needs and other waste. Food waste at the games will be composted. About 90 percent of the material waste in the construction of the Olympic stadium was recycled or reused, so it didnt end up in a landfill. Transportation Organizers are encouraging visitors to walk, bike or take public transportation to get around the city and spent $15.5 million upgrading urban walkways and bike paths. An estimated 8,000 bikes are available for rent around the city through Londons Barclays Bike Hire program, which launched in summer 2010. BMW, as part of its Olympics sponsorship, is providing more than 200 electric vehicles as fleets and setting up charging points around the city. City greening A few years ago, London officials started beautifying their city in preparation for the games. This included adding more park space and greenery around the Olympic Stadium. In London, for instance, more than 3,000 trees were planted in preparation and more than 15 tons of waste removed from the parks and waterways.

Dissemination of [Kansas Green Guide/Other publications] by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, a governmental agency, is solely for the non-commercial purpose of informing and educating the public. References to specific companies do not constitute a KDHE endorsement. If you have any questions, please contact the Bureau of Waste Management, at info@kansasgreenteams.org. Source: Business Insider

Kansas Green Guide August 3, 2012