London Games are the greenest ever, say environmental monitors
An aerial view of Olympic Rings cut into the grass of Richmond Park, London, England.
London's Olympics are the greenest Games ever, the independent Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 has found.
The Commission, which was set up to monitor the 2012 Olympics' impact on the environment, found that the city's efforts to recycle and implement other green practices have been a success, BBC News reported.
London was the first host city of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire period of preparations, Living Green Magazine reported.
The Commission found that the Olympic committee reused or recycled over 98 per cent of waste in the demolition phase of building Olympic facilties, and 99 per cent in construction of the Olympic Park.
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“This was a derelict wasteland with contaminated land, rivers full of rubbish, broken down buildings," said David Stubbs, Head of Sustainability for the Games’ organizers LOCOG, of the Olympic Park area, Euronews reported.
The London Olympics' also used 15 percent of the total gas used at the Beijing Games, organizers claimed, according to Euronews.
Their efforts to encourage public transport also resulted one million extra walking and cycling trips in London every day of the games, according to Living Green.
"London's sustainable Games have been a massive success," said Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 chairman Shaun McCarthy. "But, like the best sports teams, there is a need to continuously improve. I wish the IOC [International Olympics Committee] and future host cities success in proving they can do better."
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