What Event Planners Can Learn About Recycling From The 2012 Olympics

Olympic organizers made a concerted effort to make the 2012 London Olympics the most environmentally friendly games in history. Event planners who want to make their affairs greener can learn from what is going on in London right now.

Recycling Starts At Home

Construction at the London Olympics made extensive use of recycled metal including abandoned gas pipes, and the complex of buildings was built using one tenth of the steel used in Beijing in 2008. Buildings were designed to use natural lighting and ventilation to minimize the amount of electricity that would be needed.

Keeping your event environmentally friendly begins well before the opening date. You need to do more than simply put out a couple of recycling containers and call it green. You don't have to build an entire Olympic village to benefit from recycled and sustainable materials. Reuse decoration or construction materials from past events. Buy compostable cups instead of plastic. Educate staff and volunteers on cleanup duties to ensure trash and recycling don't intermingle.

Make Recycling Easy For Guests

A survey found that 97% of London residents felt there weren't enough facilities to accommodate recycling efforts. To meet the new demand hundreds of new recycling containers were placed throughout London's city center to prepare for the large Olympic crowds. These containers with their bright green faces were easy to spot by people wondering where to dump a plastic bottle or aluminum can.

You have little control over how your guests dispose of waste during the event. It can be frustrating to see someone throw a plastic bottle in a trash can right next to a recycling container, but mistakes and carelessness happen. What you can do is make it easy for your guests by placing plenty of recycle bins throughout the location, especially around high traffic areas such as food vendors.

Learn From Mistakes

One problem that has been observed at the London Olympics is that, despite the presence of recycling containers, there has been significant mingling of materials. This may be due to inadequate marking of container locations, insufficient containers to meet the need, or improper education of Olympic visitors. Future Olympic organizers will have to come up with better ways to encourage people to recycle.

If your event has the same problem, then you need to ask yourself why this happened. For example, did you place recycle bins and trash cans together or separately? It is better to place receptacles next to each other so no one is tempted to throw items into the wrong container simple because it's closer. Or perhaps bins weren't emptied often enough so guests were forced to throw recyclables into the trash.

In addition to the obvious ecological benefits, recycling saves money and improves your public image. Place plenty of recycling containers at your next event to help save the environment and boost your company's bottom line.