Tokyo 2020 turns recycled plastic into Victory Ceremony podiums

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced on Monday (28 September) that it has successfully collected enough plastic to create the podiums to be used in all Paralympic and Olympic Victory Ceremonies.

Launched in June 2019, the Recycled Plastic Victory Ceremony Podium Project mobilised citizens to donate used household plastics for recycling, with the cooperation of major retailers and 113 schools from across Japan and the active participation of P&G Group offices and organisations. 

The immense cooperation led to 24.5 tonnes of used plastic, equivalent to around 400,000 bottles of laundry detergent weighing 900 grams each that were collected in approximately nine months, allowing the campaign to reach its collection goals by March 2020.

The Tokyo 2020 Games will be the first occasion in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in which members of the public have participated in the collection of used plastic to produce victory ceremony podiums.

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has championed sustainability as a core element of the Games with the concept ‘Be better, together’, showcasing examples of sustainable solutions both in Japan and abroad in order to work toward a more sustainable society.

Resource Management is one of the key areas of focus, with Tokyo 2020 setting a target to use recycled materials and to reuse or recycle 99 per cent of all procured items. This project also contributes to our commitment to facilitate broader involvement of the public in sustainability.

A prime example of this commitment is the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project, in which small electronic devices such as used mobile phones were collected from members of the public throughout Japan and recycled, allowing all Paralympic and Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals to be manufactured completely from recycled metals. Tokyo 2020 also aims for a carbon-neutral Games, with 100 per cent of the electricity used in venues to come from renewable sources.

Collection for the Recycled Plastic Victory Ceremony Podium Project was carried out in collaboration between the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Procter & Gamble Japan Ltd., a part of P&G Group.

The design of the Tokyo 2020 Victory Ceremony Podium will be unveiled at a later date.