Japan counts the cost of Tokyo Olympics waste after dumping medical supplies, food

The organisers last week issued an apology for ‘mismanaging’ medical equipment that was stockpiled before being thrown away unused

One-quarter of food ordered for 20 venues before the Games was dumped, including 4,000 of the 10,000 meals from the day of the opening ceremony

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Chinese athletes wearing protective face masks arrive in Tokyo before the Olympics. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:45pm, 6 Sep 2021Updated: 7:53pm, 10 Sep 2021

Medical experts and critics of Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympic Games have condemned the financial and material waste linked to the event, although many said they were not surprised.

The organising committee for the Games last week issued an apology for “mismanaging” medical equipment that was stockpiled in preparation for the event before being thrown away unused. Hundreds of boxes of medical-grade gloves, gowns and N-95 masks, which are in short supply in many hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, were dumped.

The equipment was not used because the government decided spectators would not be permitted to enter venues – it was dumped because there was nowhere to store it, officials said.

About 3,400 medical gowns and 33,000 masks were also discarded, along with thousands of bottles of hand disinfectant, with an estimated total value of 5 million yen (US$45,600).

“I just don’t understand,” said Yoko Tsukamoto, a professor of infection control at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido.

“Perhaps the gloves and masks are not really in short supply, but they would still have been very useful to have at hospitals as the virus is going to be around for a long time yet, but the N-95 masks are really high-quality equipment and there is a serious shortage right now,” he said.