Paris will ban single-use plastic when it holds the 2024 Olympic Games as part of efforts to tackle a global plastic pollution crisis, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced.
“We have decided to make the Olympic Games the first major event without single-use plastic,” Hidalgo told a press conference at a session of the International Forum of Mayors against Plastic Pollution, reported by Reuters.
Visitors to temporary Olympics competition sites in the French capital will be admitted only without plastic bottles.
Coca-Cola, sponsor of the Olympic Games, will distribute its products in re-usable glass bottles and more than 200 soda fountains, which will be redeployed after the games. Re-usable cups will also be used for refreshments during the Olympics marathon.
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Organisers of the Paris Olympics have said they want to halve the carbon footprint compared to previous Summer Games in Rio in 2016 and London in 2012.
The UN Environment Programme issued a report on saying countries could reduce plastic pollution by 80% by 2040 using existing technologies and making major policy changes.
“Our goal is to halve the emissions arising in relation to the Games, while offsetting even more CO2 emissions than we will generate,” stated the official Paris 2024 Olympics website.
Initiatives to reach this target include using “100% renewable energy during the Games, the circular economy, sustainable food sourcing, responsible digital technology, clean mobility solutions for the Olympic fleet, public transport and environmentally friendly means of transport for spectators, biodiversity protection and water management.”
