The deadlock between traders at New Spitalfields Market and organisers of the London Olympics moved a step closer to resolution this week.
Wholesalers at the market publicly criticised the organisers of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for failing to discuss local produce supply and waste disposal options with New Spitalfields - despite its location just a few hundred metres from the new Olympic stadium and village.
But this week, chairman of Spitalfields Market Tenants’ Association Chris Hutchinson told FPJ: “I have learned that the head of sustainability at the London 2012 Organising Committee, David Stubbs, would be interested in hearing from us. I will put this to the tenants and see if we can’t get together to see what we have to offer the Olympics.
“London 2012 is being billed by the organising committee as the Green Games, but what we fear is that a large, centralised catering contractor might win the supply for the games and produce will have to travel a great distance, when produce could be purchased just next to the site.”
The East London market also believes it has a lot to offer in terms of waste recycling, that it is worried the committee might overlook. Hutchinson said: “We are very concerned about the recycling efforts for the Games as from what we have heard, they are not very green. There is talk that waste would be floated down the Thames on barges but there does not seem to be any thought about recycling it when it reaches its destination. Here at New Spitalfields our recycling effort is growing year on year and we have fantastic facilities and equipment, but we are disappointed that this has not been taken on board by the committee to now.”
A spokesman for the London 2012 Organising Committee said that food or waste supply contracts were far from being settled. He said: “We have an environment and sustainability team and as far as we are aware, no one from Spitalfields or the Corporation of London has been in contact yet. Our team would be more than happy to talk to them. We are still a long way off deciding on any suppliers for food contracts or waste disposal.”
The market’s council met this week to discuss the impasse and agreed that although any produce supply contract is expected to be worth only a few hundred thousand pounds, and so would not represent a huge amount of business to the New Spitalfields, which turns over several million pounds a year, it is nonetheless significant to the local economy.
