Credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images
With all the glitz and glamour that comes along with the Olympic Games, you might be surprised to hear that the medals are made from recycled cell phones and other gadgets!
The next Olympic host, Tokyo, promised to make these games the most innovative games ever. One year before they start, they are already delivering!
A group of young Japanese environmentalists came up with the idea in 2016. They wanted to show how much electronic waste was going on in Tokyo, whose inhabitants are known for constantly replacing their gadgets. It is believed that over 650,000 tons of small electronics are tossed every year, while only 100,000 tons are recycled.
The Olympic Committee loved the idea and launched the “Everyone’s Medal” program in early 2017. Citizens were encouraged to drop off their gadgets at the many designated locations they prepared.
In order for this to work, they would need millions of devices. Each of the devices only provides trace amounts of the metals. The organizers figured they would need about eight tons of devices and gadgets to accomplish their goal of creating 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals. In just under two months, Japanese residents had donated almost 79,000 tons worth of gadgets! In all that tonnage, 6.21 million smartphones were donated.
In past years, the silver medal only contained roughly 92.5 percent silver. But, because of the overwhelming donation of the gadgets, all silver medals are 100 percent silver. The bronze medal is 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.
In addition to the spectacular games, the Olympics will focus on not wasting electronics. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was actually the first country to come up with the idea of making medals from recycled materials. In 2016, their medals were made from 30 percent recycled materials.
