Next year’s Games is promoting sustainability and raising awareness about recycling in creative ways. Spectators at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will sit on chairs made of plastic recycled from local bins. “There were shortages of virgin materials, which led a lot of manufacturers to switch to waste,” says Marius Hamelot, co-founder of Le Pavé, the eco-construction firm behind the initiative.
“Plastics manufacturers stopped operating altogether, not because there were no more orders, but because there was no more material. So they switched over to the waste sector.” Despite the logistical challenges and strains on global supply chains, the seating scheme is part of wider efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of the Olympic Games, which promise to be the greenest yet.
The organisers have said they will slash emissions in half compared to previous games by utilising existing structures, encouraging public transport use, and – controversially – carbon offsetting. The seats at Olympic venues such as the Arena at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris and the Olympic aquatic centre in Saint-Denis will be made from recycled plastic.