Organizers of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games announced last November that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics would be one of the greenest international events, featuring renewable energy sources and recyclable materials. And the athletes' beds are a bold confirmation of this stated ambition.
Athletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics (July 24 to August 9) will sleep on recyclable beds. Manufactured by Japan's Airweave, the 26,000 beds in the Olympic and Paralympic Villages are made of polyethylene mattresses that fit into cardboard frames. Frames and mattresses will be recycled at the end of the sports competition.
In early January, the Organising Committee for the 2020 Olympics told the Associated Press that some athletes were concerned that the bedding could support up to about 200 kilograms. "They're stronger than wooden beds." he said.
Even the medals of the athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be more environmentally friendly: the 5,000 gold, silver and bronze medals are made entirely from metals extracted from small electronic devices and mobile phones.
