If not for the cardboard beds equipped for competitors in the Tokyo Olympic Village, people might not have realized that beds could be made of paper. As implausible as it sounds, the Olympic organizing committee actually had a more profound reason for doing so.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (TOCOG) has adopted " For the sake of the Earth and humanity, together **** for a better future " as its philosophy of sustainable development. Under the principle of Better Together for the Planet and for People, the Organizing Committee used a large amount of renewable energy and recycled raw materials in the preparation of the Olympic Games, which may be the most environmentally friendly and greenest Olympic Games in history.
In fact, in addition to the cardboard beds, what's even more amazing is that the medals and podiums are also made from waste materials!
At the Olympic Village, hydrogen-powered cars are in use, and a hydrogen-powered community is taking shape. How far can Japan go to implement eco-friendly concepts?
Watch this episode of Phoenix's Big Picture, "The Late Bloomer - Observations on the Tokyo Olympics in the Face of Epidemic"!
Putting a new spin on hydrogen energy
Hydrogen energy plays a very important role in the environmental strategy of the Tokyo Olympics, and it is an important vehicle for decarbonizing energy change. In the use of hydrogen energy in this field, Japan has the world's leading technology, the Tokyo Olympics has become a Japan to the international community to show the results of energy development technology "hydrogen show"!
Inside the Tokyo Olympic Village, there are also hydrogen-powered self-driving cars. According to the staff, hydrogen buses will run every 5 minutes during peak hours, with a maximum interval of 20 minutes, and these buses can automatically run for 24 hours.
"Sustainability is one of the main pillars of the Tokyo Olympics," said Koji Arai, Director of the Innovation Promotion Office at the Tokyo Organizing Committee. Our goal is to emit no carbon dioxide, so we will be using hydrogen produced in Nanae-cho, Fukushima, to power hydrogen-powered cars, which I think is one of the sustainability initiatives."
The Olympic Village, through which these buses travel, is actually already equipped with hydrogen.
Yukie Arada, head of the sustainability department at the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, said, "We are also using hydrogen to generate electricity in the Olympic Village and to provide hydrogen energy for some of the accommodation buildings. At the end of the Games, the Olympic Village will be turned into ordinary residences, and we have embedded hydrogen power generation into the pipeline in order that it can be used at that time as well. To start systematizing the operation through this Olympics for the future development of the city, I think this is one of the characteristics of the Olympics."
The hydrogen energy for the Olympic Village comes from a plant in Fukushima, Japan, the world's largest hydrogen energy manufacturing plant. After the Games, the Olympic Village will be transformed into the world's largest hydrogen-powered community. The 4,100 apartments will also be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells. This will be the first community in Japan to fully operationalize the actual use of hydrogen stations, hydrogen pipelines, and hydrogen fuel cells.
"Scrap" podium and "scrap" medals
The Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (TOCOG) has declared that Japan will have 100% renewable energy and zero carbon emissions. The Organizing Committee has mobilized the people of Japan to help the environment in order to achieve this goal.
Yukie Arada, Director of Sustainability at the Tokyo Organizing Committee, said, "For the podium, we collected detergent bottles, discarded bottles, and so on, from the public with the help of Procter & Gamble, and melted them down to make the podium. I'm sure the kids who helped us will be very happy."
The Olympic organizing committee made an effort to call on the public to collect used plastic products. More than a hundred podiums*** require 45,000 kilograms and 1.5 million plastic items. On the basis that each recycled plastic item reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 75 grams, the energy saved when the goal is achieved will be enough to light a home for up to 112 years.
In addition to the podium, this year's medals carry the eco-friendly spirit. The medals are made from "urban mines", which are collected from discarded electronic devices. The Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games recycles old cell phones and used electrical appliances from the entire population of Japan and refines them into recycled metals, an environmental project that involves 30.3 kilograms of gold, 4,100 kilograms of silver, and 2,700 kilograms of copper. Typically, medals weigh about 150 to 200 grams, but the medals for the Tokyo Olympics will weigh more than 500 grams.
Arakada Yukie said, "The reuse and recycling of the Earth is precisely because of the power of each and every citizen, which will be closely linked to the future Earth, so we were able to achieve this goal has already exceeded 100 points, and I would like to give 120 points to everyone. "
The "magic" of cardboard
President Takaoka, the head of the cardboard bed sponsorship company, is very passionate about the Olympics, and went to the scene to watch the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when his career was just starting out. After the Beijing Olympics, Takaoka Honjo also provided bedding and quilt supplies for the Chinese national team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Now that the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed for a year, the bedding he sponsored has been piling up in storage.
President Takaoka said, "For Olympic athletes, if the final is the next day in the schedule, sleep on the night before the showdown becomes the most important thing in their lives. It is a great pleasure to make our bedding available to people all over the world. In today's situation, the athletes may be restricted in their travels, but at least they can be assured of a good sleeping environment. I think it's important to prepare the best of all the Olympics."
The Olympic Village is equipped with cardboard beds made from more than fifty sheets of corrugated cardboard stitched together without the use of any screws or glue, while the weight-bearing capacity is high. These cardboard beds can be recycled after the Olympic Village is finished.
Not only cardboard beds, but paper cups and trays from the Olympic Village will be recycled into toilet paper.
At the recycling plant in Fuji City, Li Miao saw the production process of reused products. The paper waste products shipped from the contestant village first go through a process of removing impurities and ink before being processed by machines to produce finished toilet paper. Wastewater from the papermaking process is also treated to meet environmental standards before being discharged into the city's rivers.
"Our goal is to reuse or recycle 99% of everything we buy or borrow," said Yukie Arakida, Director of the Sustainability Department at the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. Of course, items such as containers should be recycled as much as possible, so paper containers are recycled after being used for meals and reused as paper again. In addition, waste generated during the Games, such as finished drink bottles and leftover food, will also be recycled, and we have set a target of 65% for this. "
Japan has very strict rules on waste separation, and the Tokyo Olympics are making even greater efforts to promote the spirit of environmental protection. This time, the Olympic concept of environmental protection is supported by new energy sources, hydrogen energy utilization for the Olympic Games labeled "100% renewable energy", and supporting the mature waste processing and recycling system, will also be running at full speed to help the Olympic Games.
July 19 to 23, 8 pm, Phoenix Chinese Channel Phoenix Great Vision "late party - the epidemic of the Tokyo Olympics Observatory", reveals the environmental protection know-how of the Tokyo Olympics. Are the Tokyo Olympics doing enough for the planet and for people?