Are you excited for the Olympic games in Tokyo? It’s not for another year yet but the new medals have been released and surprise! They’re made from 100% recycled materials. In preparation for the event, nearly 79,000 tons of old devices were collected and recycled.
The medals are made from the precious materials found in e-waste. Cameras, laptops, games, and most of all, cell phones. Gold, silver and bronze is found in these devices in very small amounts. There’s not a hidden treasure cove in your smartphone but if you collect and melt enough you could be sitting on a pretty penny.
It’s not easy to extract the metal and the process was handled by professionals. In all they almost 14,000 pounds of precious metals, enough to make the needed 5,000 medals. A truly unique moment in recycling.