July 2012 Archives

With just two weeks to go before the opening of London 2012, millions of visitors are preparing to descend on our capital city. But will London deliver, in David Cameron's words, "the greenest Games ever"? And how will the chemical industry contribute?

An estimated 8,000 tonnes of waste will be collected across the Olympic venues, and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) aims to recycle 70% of it. Phil Cumming, corporate sustainability manager for LOCOG, is in charge of meeting this target. He admits that the company "has come up with an approach which has not been attempted at this scale", but remains confident that they will succeed.

LOCOG and government-funded WRAP present a wealth of ways in which they will attempt to execute this task in the 'London 2012 Zero Waste Games Vision.' It describes, for instance, the alliance of Coca-Cola and SITA UK. The two companies will create recyclable PET bottles, containing up to 25% recycled content (rPET). These will be reprocessed, as with all clear PET bottles discarded at the games, and with the help of ECO Plastics, within an impressive six weeks. Similarly, products will be served in recyclable polypropylene (PP) cups whenever possible.

As these PET bottles account for around 30% of the Games' predicted total waste, these companies' work is crucial to London 2012's efforts towards sustainability. 

The Dow Chemical Company is another example of the chemical industry's involvement in London's 'Zero Waste' Vision, and goes far beyond recycling. George Hamilton, vice president for Dow Olympic operations, described the games as "a great platform" for sales, predicting to generate over $1 billion revenue during their ten-year Official Worldwide Olympic Partnership; but the US company's intentions are not purely mercenary. Dow's goal is to "provide solutions that help make the Olympic Games more sustainable"; this is apparent through their contributions to London's rapidly-approaching Games.

Dow's Plastics Division, for instance, provided the sustainable fabric wrap to surround the iconic Olympic stadium. Compared to conventional materials, it will have a lower carbon footprint, require fewer raw materials in manufacturing, and will be recycled following the Games. The printing process will also reduce emissions and eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOC). Their Performance Plastics Division has also developed sustainable high-performance polyethylene resin used to make the artificial grass for the Olympic hockey pitches.

Despite the efforts of both the chemical industry and those planning this summer's Olympics, it seems the sustainability plans central to London's winning bid were too ambitious.

As well as concerns about pollution and failures to meet 20% renewable energy targets, London 2012 is set to damage the environment through breaking their 'Zero Waste' promises. Some food waste will be sent to landfill, and a reported 99% of demolition materials were not reused.

Plans for a low-carbon Olympic torch were also scrapped as EDF Energy failed to develop it in time. According to Shaun McCarthy, chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, what would have been an "unequivocal demonstration of London's commitment to a truly sustainable Games", has been replaced with a less sustainable torch, using a formula of butane and propane.

Many have voiced their concerns about the reality of London 2012's impact on the environment. Darren Johnson, London assembly Green party member said the organisers "are a long way short of the inspirational revolution in environmental policy we were promised."

Obviously, the reality of the Olympics' sustainability will remain unclear until the last bottle has been binned. The work of LOCOG, WRAP and companies such as Dow certainly seems to have pushed London in the right direction. But the greenest Games ever? I'm doubtful.

By Becky Wilson

After eighteen hours and 898km of strong headwinds, turbulence and even some backwards flying, Bertrand Piccard's plane landed successfully in Madrid without the aid of a single drop of fuel.

On Friday 6^th July, the aptly-named Solar Impulse completed the returning leg of its first intercontinental flight, powered only by the sun and with a 90-strong team of engineers, technicians and mission controllers behind it. But this huge achievement was not without its difficulties.

As well as the unpredictable meteorological conditions which caused the flight to be postponed by three days, Piccard and his team were dragged back down to earth with many technical problems.  Jacques van Rijckevorsel, responsible for chemical group Solvay's involvement in the project, likened the plane to a "flying laboratory" last year and admitted the $100m project had been "extremely demanding". Indeed, without the help of their partners including Solvay and materials provider Bayer Material Science, Solar Impulse's triumph would not have been possible. Bayer Material Science's researchers contributed ideas on both lightweight construction and energy efficiency, while Solvay conducted computer-based simulation to predict the behaviour of these lightweight materials during flight.

The project commenced in 2003, when Swiss duo Piccard and André Borschberg envisioned a plane powered entirely by the sun. 11,628 monocrystalline silicon cells, a hundred partners, nine years and two prototypes later, their dreams have come true. The commercial-airline-sized prototype first took off in 2010, and since then has also flown up to twelve hours and through the night. But last week's intercontinental success was the first of its kind and will remain a milestone for the Solar Impulse project.

Despite their previous successes, the sky remains the limit for Piccard and Borschberg. In 2013 Solar Impulse will attempt to break the round-the-world record in five legs of five days. And for these aviation pioneers, as well as saving energy and demonstrating solar power's potential, they view their accomplishment as "a symbol that affects all of us". As the project's website states, solar aeroplanes are unlikely to ever carry 300 passengers. But Solar Impulse's triumph shows us that a sustainable future for air travel may be on the horizon.

By Becky Wilson