Tokyo 2020: Recycled cardboard used for beds at Olympics and Paralympics
The bed frames for athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be made from recyclable cardboard.
The athletes competing in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will be sleeping on cardboard. The Olympic Village, which accommodates all of the athletes competing in the games and is off-limits to non-athletes, will have 18,000 beds with frames made completely of cardboard.
Following the games, the cardboard will be recycled into paper products, and the mattresses, which are not made of cardboard, will be recycled into plastic products. These beds align with the Tokyo 2020 Games’ sustainability concept of, “Be better, together – For the planet and the people.”
The Tokyo 2020 Games set five main sustainability themes to follow while preparing, organizing and operating the games that include climate change and resource management. Tokyo 2020, along with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Government of Japan and other delivery partners are aiming for zero waste.
Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of the Athletes Village, told that the beds can stand up to 200 kilograms, which is around 440 pounds. “They are stronger than wooden beds,” Kitajima added. The Olympic Village is expected to be completed in June and the Olympics open on July 24. The Paralympics will open on Aug. 25.
