Built Environment

Sustainability is at the forefront of all decision-making affecting design, construction, and management of built environments at Sydney Olympic Park.  

Building design and construction

In accordance with the planning and development controls for Sydney Olympic Park all development is required to satisfy a high level of sustainability.  The Environmental Guidelines for Sydney Olympic Park (2008) include the following aspects which are to be incorporated in development at Sydney Olympic Park:

• Include an Ecologically Sustainable Design (ESD) consultant as a core member of the development project team
• Connect to Sydney Olympic Park’s recycled water system for all approved uses of recycled water, including:
  • toilet and urinal flushing
  • irrigation of the parklands and gardens
  • fountains and water features
  • playing fields
  • fire fighting
  • construction
  • wash down and dust suppression
  • clothes washing (supply to washing machine only)
  • commercial air conditioning water cooling towers.
• Prioritise sustainable materials selection:
  • all Australian hardwood timber must be from certified sustainably managed plantation sources
  • all fibreboard must be low emission medium density
  • use of fibreboard chlorine based products (including PVC) must be minimised
  • copper chrome and arsenic treated timber or imported native rainforest timber must not be used in any application (including formwork)
• Comply with the Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) (residential development), or achieve a 4.5 star as built NABERS rating (commercial office buildings)
• Consider rising sea levels as a result of climate change

Waste Management

Waste management at Sydney Olympic Park is based on the philosophy of ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’. 

The Authority’s Waste Reduction and Purchasing Plan (WRAPP) provides strategies to manage waste generated by Park visitors, from the Authority’s offices, landscaping, works and construction programs.  These strategies aim to reduce the amount of solid waste going to landfill and to maximise recycling.

Waste generation and recycling data is reported annually in the Authority’s State of Environment Report.

Mixed public domain and office waste (excluding office paper) is sorted at a waste retrieval facility rather than separated at source; recovery rates are typically 85-90%. Tree prunings and other woody vegetation are reused as mulch wherever possible.

Other greenwaste is disposed of at a licensed disposal facility where it is composted or mulched; greenwaste that contains notifiable noxious weeds is sent to licensed landfill for deep burial in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Where practical, construction waste is source-separated for recyclables including concrete, soil, asphalt, timber, bricks, glass, and metals. Leachate from the Wilson Park landfill is treated on-site in a bioremediation system, which avoids the need for transfer to an off-site treatment facility.