Australia's Green Games: Reducing waste

Australia's Green Games: Reducing waste

Reducing waste
Wherever feasible, existing buildings are being reused and refitted for the Sydney Games. Approximately one-third of all sporting competitions, some nine out of 28, will be held in already existent venues — reducing the environmental impact by reducing the need for new construction. This philosophy also extends to the housing of Games organising and support staff — the current SOCOG Headquarters once housed a newspaper empire and the Media Village was an old hospital.
Wherever possible, recycled material has been incorporated into construction. For example 220,000 cubic metres of concrete and rubble from the demolished Homebush abattoir has been reused at the Homebush Bay site, while a further 40,000 cubic metres of earth excavated during construction has been reused for the creation of grassed or landscaped embankments at the Athletic Centre. During the construction of the new Sydney Showground (where indoor sports such as basketball, volleyball. handball and rhythmic gymnastics will be played during the Games), 94.67 per cent of all waste was recycled.
This reuse and recycle philosophy extends to the Olympic Overlay, which is the term used to describe the additional facilities and modifications organisers need to ready venues for the Games times crowds. Typically Overlay includes such things as additional seating, toilets, relocatable buildings, tents and marquees, fencing, staging for ceremonies and indoor sports, and additional building services such as power supply, lighting and air-conditioning. As Overlay is essentially a set of temporary requirements, a major objective of Sydney's procurement strategy is to have these component sponsored, hired or leased, rather than building them from scratch. This way, once the Games are finished, there will be no need for bulldozers to come in and raze the site, leaving tonnes of refuse, and most of the temporary facilities can be used again.