Tokyo 2020 Unveils Olympic Medals Made out of 100% Recycled Phones
6 million devices have been donated to the project.
The Tokyo 2020 Medal Project has just unveiled that next year’s Olympic medals are made out of nearly 80,000 tons of recycled mobile phones and small electronic devices that have been sourced from Japan. Designed by Junichi Kawanishi, it has been reported that there will roughly be 5,000 medals given out between both the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
According to the project’s website, a whopping number of 6 million mobile phones have been donated since April 2017 have been used to craft the gold, silver and bronze medals. The nearly 158 million pounds of donated electronics were reduced down to approximately 71 pounds of gold, 7,700 pounds of silver, and 4,850 pounds of bronze. “We hope that our project to recycle small consumer electronics and our efforts to contribute to an environmentally friendly and sustainable society will become a legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games,” the organization’s website reads.
Project organizers hope that their efforts to contribute to an environmentally friendly and sustainable society will help establish Tokyo 2020’s theme of resourcefulness.
While we’re on the topic of sustainability, did you hear that Burberry hired Director of Diversity to become more inclusive and sustainable?