In June 2010, Olympic organizers, together with Japanese government officials, mobile phone company executives, a metal company and recycling organizations, had discussed the idea of sourcing recycled electronics from this mine in creating medals with an eye towards “a sustainable future”.
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The flag, bearing the symbol of the five interlocking rings, arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on charter flights with the delegation, which bagged a record 41 medals at the August 5-21 games in Rio de Janeiro.
The report revealed that for the London 2012 Olympics 9.6kg of gold, 1,210kg of silver and 700kg of copper (used to create bronze) was used – so Japan should meet this easily.
In contrast, the metal recovered from consumer electronics in Japan in 2014 included 143kg of gold, 1,566kg of silver and 1,112 tons of copper. In fact, it is estimated that the country has 16 per cent of the world’s gold reserves and 22 per cent of the silver, more than countries that mine for the stuff.
Britain won 27 golds on their way to a second-placed finish in the medal table, their best haul in over 100 years, and now BBC Radio 5live are reporting that the government have confirmed the increase, which was agreed to by the previous administration, will still be awarded. This collection of e-waste is sometimes referred to as an “urban mine”. Recycled precious materials are also commonly used to produce new electronic devices, with silver being in especially high demand.
The plan does face some challenges, however – Japan has not fully implemented a system for collecting discarded consumer electronics, and a 2013 law requiring the recycling of home appliances was not as effective as lawmakers hoped.
Partly recycled materials were used for the medals for the Rio 2016 Olympics. “If this public-private cooperation progress, the collection of electronic waste should also progress”.
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A United Nations report from past year said that China and the United States were the worst offenders when it comes to discarding electronics.
