Olympic site clean up on track to beat sustainability targets

The remediation work began three years ago and has allowed construction work to begin on or ahead of schedule at all the permanent Olympic Venues.

The scale of the clean up is unprecedented in the UK with more than one million tonnes of contaminated materials.

The Olympic Delivery Authority’s director of infrastructure and utilities Simon Wright said: “Delivering one of the UK’s most complex and greenest clean up operations on time and on budget is a major milestone.

“It has ensured that the ‘big build’ is on track by creating, from mainly contaminated land, the foundation for the venues, parklands and homes that will transform this part of east London for the games and legacy.

He said the ODA had been responsible for cleaning more than a million tonnes of contaminated material.

Rosemary Redmond, the Environment Agency’s Olympic delivery project manager, added: “The 2012 Olympic development is breathing new life into a part of east London that was blighted by fly-tipping, poor water quality and little public access.

“Throughout this exciting regeneration project we have worked closely with the ODA advising and regulating on a wide range of environmental issues including the site clean up, the removal of invasive species which prevented native wildlife thriving, and a facelift for the silted River Lea.

“We have set the highest environmental standards so the Olympic Park can provide the perfect backdrop for a ‘Green Games’ and provide a better place for Londoners in the decades to come after 2012.”

Sam Bond