This story was originally published on: WIRED in Spanish Translated from Spanish.
Traditionally, track and field events The Olympic track is red. But for the 2024 Summer Olympics, it will be purple, the event color chosen by the Paris Organizing Committee. But there’s another difference: As part of the 2024 Olympics’ commitment to sustainability, it’s made from recycled seashells from the fishing industry.
Resilient flooring, such as running track flooring, is typically made from calcium carbonate, which is mined. Instead, Mondo, the company that designed the track for the 2024 Summer Olympics, worked with a fishermen’s cooperative to collect shells from bivalves such as mussels and clams in the Mediterranean Sea, which would otherwise go to waste.
The track is functionally identical to existing tracks, but aims to create a new, resilient and sustainable sports surface.
Stadium staff work on the long jump track inside the Stade de France.Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Mondo has collaborated with: NieditasThe necessary materials were obtained from an Italian fishing cooperative specializing in molluscs. The fishermen cleaned and dried the shells from the mussels and clams they harvested, ground them into powder, and sent them to a substrate manufacturer to make tracks. The scientists in charge of the project worked for three years to perfect the technology.
The sports industry can reduce its ecological impact by using shells in this way. Mining limestone and marble to collect calcium carbonate generates carbon emissions and mining waste. According to Mondo, building a track using biological calcium carbonate would offset the emissions of a Euro 4 diesel car driving 60,000 km. “This project is a forward-looking example of sustainability and long-term commitment to the local community.” Nieditas As stated in a press release:
