According to Paris 2024, more than 11 million visitors stayed in the Greater Paris region during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. During these festivities, a significant amount of waste was produced, making waste management a crucial challenge in meeting the ambition of ‘delivering the most sustainable Games in history’

To meet this major challenge, the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) put in place an ambitious strategy focused on reducing, reusing and recycling waste. The aim is clear: to minimise the ecological footprint of the event while raising awareness among the public and participants of good waste management practices, with the ambition of recycling up to 80% of waste. To achieve this, a number of players have joined forces to put in place sustainable solutions.

As part of the 2024 Olympic Games, the OCOG and the Société de Livraison des Ouvrages Olympiques (SOLIDEO) have teamed up with Les Canaux, Maison des économies sociales et solidaires, and the Yunus centre, to develop SSE 2024 and thus contribute to staging the first sustainable, inclusive and socially responsible Olympic and Paralympic Games. As an extension of this ambitious project, ESS 2024 has published a series of Impact Papers, i.e. several substantial specifications, bringing together all the innovative solutions and communications to be disseminated during the Games.

Recycling: the key challenge for responsible Games

A number of measures have been put in place to maximise the event’s recycling rate. In accordance with the SSE’s specifications, a waste bin was placed every 15m², displaying fun, easy-to-understand sorting instructions, as well as humorous slogans such as ‘One, Two, Sort! A number of communication tools have also been deployed: a video explaining the waste management system during the Games is available on the Paris 2024 website.

From a material point of view, numerous Olympic water fountains have been installed at the various sports venues to limit the use of plastic bottles and encourage the use of water bottles. To comply as closely as possible with the directives of the AGEC law, Paris 2024 wanted to ban single-use packaging by using reusable and/or returnable packaging. From a human point of view, in addition to the 50,000 volunteers trained in waste management to support visitors in this responsible approach, more than 5,000 cleaning staff were mobilised.

And if you were lucky enough to experience the festive atmosphere of the stadiums, you should know that you were probably sitting on a seat made from waste recycled in the surrounding collection bins. In fact, sustainable development was the order of the day at several of the competition venues.

Citeo: the first player to commit to Paris 2024

For Citeo, the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games represent a unique opportunity to roll out best practice in packaging reduction, reuse and recycling throughout France. ‘ For the first time in the history of the Games, the fundamental principles of the circular economy are being fully integrated at all levels of the organisation ’, notes Citeo in a press release issued in the run-up to the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This work began well in advance of the event: in 2021, Citeo adapted its sorting signs for sporting events. The aim of this first step was to prepare for responsible Games. That same year, in association with Paris 2024, they published a guide to the eco-design of packaging. This work will continue for the Olympic Games, with the co-design of a comprehensive communications kit, shared with all the stakeholders in the Games and local authorities. The sorting instructions from this kit were then displayed by Paris 2024 on more than 23,500 sorting bins installed at the host and competition venues. In its press release, the organisation lists the actions taken in the run-up to the Games to support the world of sport in its environmental transition: rolling out sorting in public spaces and sports venues, improving sorting signs during events, mobilising the entire Olympic Games ecosystem around sorting and recycling with the aim of ‘ applying the same sorting gesture and the same sorting rule throughout the territory ’. To provide a better understanding of these initiatives, the company has published a guide to best practice for implementing sorting in and around sports venues.

To make recycling a common challenge, Citeo has joined forces with other committed players. Among them is Airbnb. In partnership with this rental giant, a special eco-actions guide for the Olympics has been distributed to accommodation providers to raise awareness of the need to sort waste among their visitors.

See also: Citeo, key recycling figures

What happens next?

As mentioned in the press release issued by Citeo, this key issue has led to the development of a plan to combat abandoned waste (PLDA). Its aim? To eliminate and prevent the presence of waste in nature and in towns and cities throughout France. Since then, a number of awareness-raising campaigns have taken place in different environments.

As well as contributing to the success of the Games, these numerous measures aim to leave a lasting legacy for Paris, and to inspire other cities when they organise major events. In this way, the Paris 2024 Games could become a model of waste management for future international sporting events.

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