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Olympic stadium wrap to be recycled and reused
The iconic fabric wrap that was developed and produced by Dow that surrounded the Olympic Stadium is set to live on following a partnership with UK building and development charity Article 25 and recycling company Axion Recycling to repurpose the entire stadium wrap for recycling and reuse projects in the UK, and shelter solutions for at-risk children in Uganda and Rio.
Over the past year, Dow and its partners created the innovative new Elastomer fabric technology material for the stadium wrap, and conducted extensive performance and application testing and identified viable post-Games use options. The material was required to meet LOCOG’s Sustainable Sourcing Code and Temporary Material Guidelines.
The total wrap system, including steel cables and fixtures, accounted for less than half of one percent (<0.5%) of the stadium’s total carbon footprint, making it a low carbon solution for enclosing and decorating the structure.
“We were able to jump in and – within a year’s time – use Dow’s technology to develop this new material that completed the Olympic stadium and had clearly become the most prominent visual of the London 2012 Games,” says George Hamilton, vice president of Dow Olympic Operations. “As the textile architecture market grows, we will continue to work closely with our customers and partners to develop and deliver more sustainable, breakthrough solutions.”
Dow worked with the Building Research Establishment, UK (BRE) to screen and narrow the list of options for the post-Games use of the wrap. In its evaluation, BRE took into account various factors including waste creation, extent of reprocessing required, technical challenge, scale and end of second life use.
In Brazil, Dow and Article 25 are exploring working with the Bola Pra Frente Institute to construct a shaded community area at the organisation’s new facility in the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. The Institute was created in 2000 to help children and teenagers from underprivileged communities through social programs focused on education, sports, arts and professional training. The same sheltering solution will be used as part of Article 25’s work with Jubilee Action at a vocational training and counselling centre for former child soldiers in Uganda.
The stadium wrap panels will remain as much in their current shape as possible, keeping the look of the Games that has
inspired athletes and spectators around the world. In addition, Dow is working with Manchester-based Axion Recycling to implement additional projects for reuse or recycling of the wrap within the UK.
After public funding for the wrap project was withdrawn in early 2011, Dow was selected through LOCOG’s rigorous procurement process to supply the materials and manpower to help complete the Olympic Stadium as its architects had intended. Dow worked with the Cooley Group, Rainier, Spartech and Shade Worldwide to develop the wrap, which comprises some 306 individual panels – each approximately 25 meters high and 2.5 meters wide – stretching from the concourse ground to the upper tier of the stadium.
The Stadium Wrap panels were printed with UV-curable inks, a product that meets the extremely high Nordic Ecolabel environmental and climate requirements and limits emissions during the printing process by eliminating volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Axion director Keith Freegard says: “Our expertise and technology helps support LOCOG’s goal to stage the world’s first truly sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have already demonstrated that the stadium wrap can be recycled back into new plastic raw material in our Manchester factory. We look forward to developing other sustainable options for reuse of the wrap textile into beneficial applications in the Greater London region.”
www.dow.com
www.axionrecycling.com
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