Athletes to sleep on recyclable beds at Olympics

TOKYO: Athletes competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will sleep on bed frames made from recyclable cardboard, with mattresses formed of polyethylene materials that will be reused for plastic products after the Games.

The environmentally conscious sleeping arrangements were put on display for the media yesterday at a mock flat in the Tokyo 2020 headquarters, though construction of residential sections of the Olympic and Paralympic village were completed in December.

In all, 18000 beds will be required at the village, in Tokyo Bay, during the Games that start on July 24. Only 8000 will be needed for the Paralympics.

At 2.10m long, the beds should be suitable for all but the tallest athletes, and the manufacturer, Airweave, is confident they can bear a weight of about 200kg, which is more than any athlete weighed at the 2016 Games.

Construction of some communal areas of the Olympic village, like the village plaza, is still under way.

After the Games,the flats will be sold privately, with prices starting from about ¥50 million (more than R6.4m).

The organisers are making a concerted effort to reduce carbon emissions generated by the Games, according to Junichi Fujino, an environmental researcher on the city’s taskforce.

All medals will be made from metal extracted from recycled consumer electronics, including about 6.2 million used cellphones. The Olympic torch is made from aluminium waste, and the podiums from recycled plastic waste.

Electricity for the Games will come from renewable sources. |