Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games podiums to be made from recycled plastic

It’s not only the medals that are going to be made from recycled materials at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. So are the podiums that are going to be used during the medal awarding ceremonies!

Collection boxes are now situated at 2,000 outlets of Japanese retail chain AEON to gather used plastics, as part of the “Podium Project” to create podiums out of recycled plastic to be used at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games medal award ceremonies. The collected plastic will be forwarded to P&G, the partner of Tokyo 2020 on the Podium Project, who is active in environmental issues. P&G is also planning to collect and donate plastic waste recovered from the oceans for this project. By doing so, the company aims to raise awareness of the global issue of plastic waste and achieve sustainability goals.

“Sustainability is at the heart of this effort. P&G is proud to work with Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee to demonstrate how consumers can participate in reducing plastic waste,” said Marc Pritchard, P&G Chief Brand Officer. “The Tokyo 2020 Podium Project is an example of how the Olympics can be a catalyst to inspire actions that have a positive impact on the environment and society.”

The project will mark the Olympics’ first ever medal podiums made entirely of recycled plastic. Tokyo has already launched other sustainability programs, including the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project in which bronze, silver and gold medals are being made from discarded electronic appliances. Another project, Operation BATON, uses donated local timber to construct the Village Plaza at the Olympic Village. Now, with the Podium Project well underway, each podium used at the medal award ceremonies of Tokyo 2020 will be made mostly of recycled plastic collected from Japanese citizens.

Here are the highlights of the Podium Project and what it will achieve:

• The overall goal is to collect 1.5 million pieces of plastic packaging consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene plastic from consumers to produce recycled plastic resin.
• 75 grams of carbon dioxide will be saved for each piece of plastic recycled through this project.
• Once the goal of 1.5 million pieces is reached, Tokyo 2020 and P&G will have saved enough energy to light a normal household for 112 years.

In June 2020, the podiums will be revealed, and when the Games are over, the plastic will be recycled once again into packaging for P&G products. In addition, it will also be used for educational purposes to promote the Olympic Movement’s role in sustainability.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games is no doubt a festival of sports, but it is also a global event in which the eyes of the world will gather at once place. Every time people look at a podium used at an awarding ceremony during Tokyo 2020, they will be reminded of the importance of sustainability, triggering them to think about the environment they’re in. What an excellent way of putting the message across!