Tokyo 2020 Unveil 'Green' Bed for Athlete Village

January 17, 2020  

The organising committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has revealed that athletes will sleep on recyclable cardboard beds and mattresses formed of polyethylene materials that will be reused for plastic products after the Games. Last week a mock apartment in the Tokyo 2020 headquarters was shown to the public, giving thoughts to an environmentally conscious Olympic games this year. 

Japanese bedding company Airweave, which is an official partner of Tokyo 2020, will provide a total of 18,000 beds for athletes during the Olympics that begin on 24 July this summer. A further 8,000 will be supplied to the Paralympic Village for the Paralympic Games that follow.  

Each of the beds will be made from ‘high resistance lightweight cardboard’, while organisers say the mattresses have been specifically designed to improve sleeping. In order to be suitable for tall athletes, the beds are 2.10 metres long and can bear weight of around 200 kilograms.  

Organisers are taking other steps towards a more sustainable Games this year. According to Junichi Fujino, an environmental researcher on the city’s taskforce, organisers are making a concerted effort to reduce carbon emissions that are generated by the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

Following this, all medals will be made from metal extracted from recycled consumer electronics, including around 6.2 million used mobile phones. The Olympic torch is made from aluminium waste, and the podiums from recycled household and marine plastic waste. Electricity for the Games will come from renewable sources.