No Medals for Plastic Bags

Ah, the Olympics. The world’s greatest harmonizer. The we’re-really-all-the-same-inside harbinger of international good will.  And one of the few times in any given four-year span when so large a quantity of concessions are consumed, tchotchkes purchased, and single-use packaging strewn about the land.

But London 2012 just might be without one of the most notorious SUDs around. In other words, Go World.

Greener-Upon-Thames, an activist group in the Richmond and Kingston boroughs of London close to where the festivities will be held, is aiming to make the Olympic organizers live up to their claims that London 2012 will be the most sustainable Olympics ever (except for the original games, in which there was such an emphasis on reducing waste that no one wore clothes for fear of ruining them with grass or sweat stains).

As SUDs battles go, this one is also uphill. News reports as of August 3 indicated that organizers would ban the ban, but the Olympics are still quite a bit away. From a press release describing the incident:

"The London Olympic organisers (LOCOG) refuse an outright plastic bag ban at the Olympics, called for by Greener Upon Thames, despite support from 90% of Londoners and recent Government figures showing UK use is on the increase. LOCOG Chair Lord Coe promised London 2012 would be the ‘first sustainable games, setting new standards for major events’ but to date LOCOG has rejected calls from Greener Upon Thames, a London based grass roots not-for-profit environmental organisation, to introduce a plastic-bag-free London 2012. A ban would act as a powerful symbol to the world that the Games are tackling our unsustainable use of disposable plastics and leave a lasting legacy. The plastic bag epitomises our throwaway society."

A ban on bags wouldn't be just a good show of faith, but an actual meaningful measure. After all, plastic bag consumption throughout the UK increased 5% in 2010 over previous years (via Treehugger).