12 Weirdest, Wildest and Coolest Eco-Stories of 2012

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As your reliable resource for all things green, we report on all sorts of sustainability news – the good, the bad and, sometimes, the very unusual. In case you missed out on any of this year’s craziest headlines, Earth911 rounded up 12 of the wackiest, wildest and most outlandish stories from 2012.

Homepage Image: WikiCell

1. Wastewater from London’s sewers irrigates Olympic Park

olympics, london, 2012, stadium, flowers, bloom, blooming, green, outside, blue, sky, olympic

Photo: Olympic Delivery Authority

edible, food, packaging, wikicell, balls, colorful,

bill gates, scientist, science, toilet, reinvent, reinvent the toilet fair, seattle

pilot, aviator, jeremy roswell, plastics, intercontinental, flight

venus, trash, art, plastic, bags, garbage, chris jordan, artist,

rwanda, africa, prison, jail, biogas, production,

purse, handbag, clutch, bag, food, waste, hoyan ip, london, fashion, designer

potticrete, toilet, sidewalk, recycled, toilets, bellingham, washington

mushroom, packaging, ecovative design, ecocradle, shipping,

food2water, machine, food, waste, water, kitchen,

topturn, machine, compost, composting, turn, turning,

cigarette, cigarettes, ash, ashes, tray, butt, butts

The thought of recycling sewage water may turn your stomach, but that’s exactly what happened at this year’s Olympics Games.

Wastewater from London’s sewers was sanitized and used to fill toilets and irrigate landscaping at Olympic Park and Village, as well as provide cooling water for the energy center that powered the Olympic venues.

This innovative blackwater recycling program, along with other water-saving measures like using efficient fixtures, helped the summer games reduce its use of potable – or drinking quality – water by 58 percent – exceeding its initial target of 40 percent.

Learn More: Olympic Wastewater Recycling: Gross or Green?