Paris Olympics takes sustainability to a whole new level, introducing thousands of seats made from recycled plastic in a bid to protect the planet.
Those gearing up for the Summer Olympics, which are due to be held in Paris next year, will be happy to hear about the environmentally friendly twist the event is undertaking.
A whopping 11,000 seats at the world-famous event will be made using plastic collected from recycling bins around the area. Here’s all you need to know.
Paris Olympics sustainable project − a summer event with a twist
Get ready to be captivated by the awe-inspiring transformation happening at the Paris Summer Olympics 2024.
Spectators that gather at the aquatics events will be seated on plastic seats that have been collected from recycling bins around the northern Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis.
Seine-Saint-Denis is making a name for itself as a place where magic unfolds since all the plastic used to create the seats has been collected from bins throughout this town.
In addition, the plastic is shredded and processed in this very town to be used at the local aquatics centre.
Speaking to Euronews, Augustin Jaclin, co-founder of Lemon Tri, the company which collects the recycling, said, “It’s collected in Seine-Saint-Denis, shredded in Seine-Saint-Denis, processed in Seine-Saint-Denis, all for a swimming pool that’s still in the area”.
Not your ordinary seats − rigorous testing
It’s one thing to go to great lengths to turn somebody’s waste into somebody else’s treasure, but these Olympic seats aren’t ordinary.
Before they were chosen, the seats underwent a long list of tests to ensure their safety, with extra measurements to make them as sturdy and secure as possible.
As well as undergoing fire resistance tests, UV resistance tests and toxicity tests, the seats were tested for their resilience, which is essential when crowds of spectators use them.
The resistance tests ensured persistent attempts to rip them from the ground, preventing any angered spectators from doing the same during the events.
Olympic manufacturers proved it was challenging to source new plastics, so they turned to a wellspring of innovation – the waste stream.
One idea was to utilise soda bottle tops, of which five million were shredded by various companies looking to produce infrastructure like seating for the games.
Augustin has described it as “a huge communication tool”, adding, “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”.
Paris Olympics gets 11,000 seats made from recycled plastic − the details
The Paris Olympics 2024 transcends carbon reduction, they embody a commitment to safeguarding our planet, and France has set ambitious targets regarding sustainability for the games next year.
Among their endeavours is a flagship project which is set to resurrect the River Seine to make it swimmable for the first time in decades, enabling them to hold a triathlon there.
Tests from last summer have found the water quality “overwhelmingly good,” allowing locals to swim in their river again or perhaps for the first time.
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