What a waste
April 5, 2010 | Posted by Shaun McCarthy
The Commission’s recent waste review highlighted some great practice but I can’t help feeling disappointed. Good practice is transitory and of little benefit if it does not inspire change. The ODA have performed in exemplary manner: 97% waste diverted from landfill during demolition and 90%+ during construction. The second edition of the London 2012 Sustainability Plan introduced a new target to use “reasonable endeavours” to achieve 90%+ reuse or recycling after the Games. This is a remarkable target for the event management industry, which is usually very wasteful, particularly after an event, the period known as “bump-out” by the industry may just as well be called “skip-fest”. For the Games themselves LOCOG has gone one better, promising zero waste to landfill at Games-time and at least 70% of this to be re-used, recycled or composted. The Commission’s waste review scrutinised these plans and we were very impressed. We are confident this ambitious target can be achieved. However, the Games promised more than this, it promised to “act as a catalyst for good waste management practice in East London”. This is simply not happening and in my opinion the waste industry and government organisations that support it have let the side …
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