Recycled Guns and Knives to Be Used in Building London's Olympic Stadium

by Tara Lohan · 2010-01-23 07:31:00 UTC
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This may be the best piece of news I've read about guns in a while.

Inhabitat reported that the new stadium for the 2012 Olympics in London is going to be made out of guns and knives that have been melted down. Yes, the world's athletes will be parading around a virtual fortress built from weapons confiscated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

"That's an anti-weapons and recycling program all rolled into one!" as Inhabitat writer Bridgette Meinhold, put it.

And it turns out the police are not newbies when it comes to recycling. The London Evening Standard reported that last year Scotland Yard collected over 52 tons of steel, iron and other metals from confiscated items that were melted down and used in constructing buildings, bridges, cars and trains.

They also rounded up over 3 million spent bullets and casings from their firing ranges that were then made into photo frames and jewelry (although not by the actual police force, I think -- talk about crafty!) Their good works don't end there -- the Evening Standard also reported that the force has found ways to recycle everything from body armor to horse manure, for a grand total of over 3,000 pounds of recycled waste from 2008 to 2009.

I guess it seemed like a perfect fit to to melt down weapons for the new Olympic facilities. The London Olympics may be trying to make up for winning the world's worst Olympic logo contest by shifting attention to their green efforts. They list their sustainability goals, which include using existing venues where possible; only creating permanent structures that will have long term use; and making sure everything else is temporary. Laudable goals and pretty much right out of Sustainability 101.

They also plan to address five key themes: climate change, waste, biodiversity, inclusion and healthy living, which they detail more on their website. I'm always sad when water issues don't make the top five, but alas. At least they have finally found a good use for weapons. Maybe other countries (like the U.S.) could hold a guns 'n ammo drive for them to round up some more building materials.

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
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