Tokyo Olympics 2020 may have medals made from recycled smartphones

At the Rio Olympics, a gold medal’s street value was around 4 per piece, with 812 created for the Games.

As the Olympic torch is snuffed out in Rio, the Japanese are already getting a jump preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Watched by billions of viewers, Sunday’s carnival-themed closing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro included a spectacular fireworks display.

Officials in Rio also recycled materials for the medals this year.

Nikkie Asian Review reports that the amount of gold and silver that is contained in Japan’s total consumer electronic goods is equivalent to 16 percent and 22 percent respectively of world’s total reserve of the precious metals. The country’s e-waste stream could certainly provide enough precious metals to cover the demand; the problem lies with collecting the discarded devices from the public.

From the other aircraft, delegation captain Saori Yoshida, the silver medalist in the women’s 53-kg freestyle wrestling competition in Rio, disembarked along with Japan’s flag bearer and decathlete Keisuke Ushiro holding the Japanese Olympic Committee flag.

Takeshi Kuroda, president of ReNet Japan Group, is backing the plan. The PM pledged that he will work hard to host the best Games yet but Tokyo’s Olympic preparations have suffered high-profile setbacks including soaring costs and having to redesign the Games logo after accusations of plagiarism.

The London games used 21 lbs. of gold; 2,667.5 lbs. of silver; and 1,543.2 lbs. of copper to make their medals.

Some of the 2020 medals may be part-smartphone.

1,566kg of silver was recovered vs 1,210kg required, and 1,112 tonnes of copper vs 700kg needed.

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Managing the mountains of electronic waste worldwide has been one focal point of the United Nations Environment Program, which calls e-waste “one of the fastest growing waste streams in developed as well as in developing countries”. “A collection system should be created by the private sector, and central and local governments should be in charge of publicizing such private services”.