The green clean-up of the London 2012 Olympic Park has been boosted by the arrival of a new 35 tonne Finlay 883 Reclaimer.

Sub-contractor Birse will be using the machine to shift and sort 70000 m3 of industrial and domestic rubbish at a 100-year-old tip under the Velopark and Olympic Village sites.

To clean the land for the London 2012 Games and legacy the Finlay 883 Reclaimer is shaking, separating and sorting up to 500 tonnes of waste a day (or 2500 m3 per week) into piles of glass, metal, concrete, soil and other materials to be reused on site or recycled off site.

The Finlay 883 Reclaimer, which is being used alongside an existing recycling unit and two new soil washers, is helping to keeps the London’s ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority) on track to meet its target of reusing or recycling over 90% of the demolition materials generated during construction of the 2012 Olympic’s venues.

The ODA’s work to make London 2012 the “greenest Games of modern times” is supported by the UK’s Olympic Lottery Distributor, which has announced that over UK£ 200 million has been raised for London 2012 through designated National Lottery games.

The ODA aims to clear and clean the majority of the 2,5 km2 Olympic Park by Beijing 2008, which includes demolishing over 250 buildings and cleaning 1,3 million tonnes of contaminated soil with only a small amount of waste, such as asbestos, going to landfill.

Commenting on progress so far, ODA head of sustainable development and regeneration, Dan Epstein, said, “We are committed to making London 2012 the greenest Games in modern times. We have a major challenge to clear and clean the majority of the Olympic Park by Beijing 2008 and meet our tough targets to recycle or reuse materials wherever possible. By setting new standards in sustainable construction we, and our contractors, are on track to meet these commitments.”

Chair of the Olympic Lottery Distributor, Janet Paraskeva, added, “National Lottery players have raised UK£ 200 million so far to support London 2012. There are many reasons why the London Games can surpass all others but one of the aims is to make it the “greenest” Games in modern times.

“National Lottery money is helping the Olympic Delivery Authority set high standards in minimising waste and encouraging biodiversity. Today’s announcement on how the ODA are introducing innovative techniques to help achieve its targets is an excellent example of how National Lottery funding is making a real difference.”

Landfill material is loaded into the 883 Reclaimer at the Velopark site, which shakes out soil and removes metal using electromagnets. Any remaining recyclable materials are hand picked off a conveyor belt.

Separated materials are then stored to be reused on site or sent to an offsite recycling centre, with a small amount of unusable material sent to registered landfill sites. It’s one of the first times this kind of process has been carried out on a construction site rather than at an offsite location, said an ODA spokesman, helping it meet its commitment to minimise the number of lorries going in and out of the Olympic Park.

The ODA has demolished over 70 buildings on the Olympic Park and continues to beat its target of reusing or recycling over 90% of demolition and excavated materials, set out in its Sustainable Development Strategy earlier this year. A ‘materials register’ will provide designers with a breakdown of the separated and stockpiled materials which they can reuse in the design of venues, landscaping, bridges, footpaths and other elements of the Olympic Park.

This helps avoid materials ending up in a landfill site and creates a link between ‘old’ and ‘new’ within the Park.

Over 1,3 million tonnes of soil on the Olympic Park needs to be cleaned of contamination including petrol, oil, tar and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead. A 50 tonne soil washing machine at the Aquatics Centre site has already cleaned and sorted for reuse nearly 10000 tonnes of contaminated soil.

Two new soil washing machines, both capable of cleaning twice as much soil as the existing machine, are currently being trialled in remediation centres in the north and south of the Olympic Park.

The contract for is expected to finish at the end of 2008.