Tokyo is going to medals for Olympic Games 2020 from millions of old smartphones

Multimedia Who a podiumplaatsje get in the Olympic Games of 2020 will be possible a piece of an old Samsung Galaxy S8 or iPhone X around the neck. The organizers of the Games in Tokyo plans for the gold, silver and bronze medals to create with recycled metals from old electronics such as smartphones. This was almost 47.500 tons of e-waste.

To the winning athletes in the Olympic Games of 2020 with a medal to reward, there is approximately 30 kg of gold and more than 4,000 kilograms of silver and 2,700 kilograms of bronze needed. Japan has, however, very few natural sources of the precious metal. Therefore, the organization decided behind the Play to a other ‘gold mine’ to speak: the almost inexhaustible source of “e-waste”. the

According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei produces Japan every year to 650,000 tonnes of electronic waste, consisting of electronics, such as smartphones, laptops and other gadgets. A part of the electronics in the garbage, ends, contains, however, often precious metals. In an iPhone, for example, is around 25 grams aluminum, 15 grams of copper, 0,034 grams of gold and a rate of 0.34 grams of silver, reports BBC.

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In 2016, did the Olympic committee in Japan for a national call to faulty electronics to raise funds for the Play. The metal from which devices would be a second life for an Olympic medal. To the collection to promote, were all over the country recyclagepunten neergeplant in retailers and public buildings such as post offices. That cast its fruit. In the past two years was all about 47.500 tons of electronic waste collected, including 5 million smartphones.