The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds: our smartphones contain the gold, silver and copper that can be recycled for use in new electronics, albeit in small amounts.
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Discussed by organisers, the government and private companies in June, the scheme would no doubt save money and perhaps encourage an uptake in recycling, if it gets the go-ahead.
Hopefully, when Usain Bolt makes his comeback in 2020, he’ll be able to turn to his gold medal on the podium and say, “Siri, how many medals have I won now?”
“We also had athletes in Rio who we expect not necessarily to win a medal in Tokyo but possibly to win one in wherever the 2024 Olympics are held so we invest over this long time period”.
The idea is simple: rather than asking mining corporations to donate precious metal for the Tokyo Olympics, organizers think they can source enough gold, silver, and copper from Japan’s “urban mine”. The silver and bronze medals were made of 30 per cent recycled metals, while half of the plastic in the ribbons came from recycled bottles.
Precious metals collected from e-waste over the next four years would be enough to produce every single medal for the next Olympics.
However, Japan has not yet developed a system for collecting discarded electronics.
Genki Net and its partners are now working to strengthen the country’s e-waste management programmes in preparation for the games.
However, there’s one slight issue: now, Japan’s recycled precious materials are used to make new electronic devices, and it’s hard to see the nation’s citizens foregoing a new Blu-ray player or smartphone upgrade in order to help out.
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He said: “A collection system should be created by the private sector, and central and local governments should be in charge of publicising such private services”.
