2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Embrace E-Recycling

In an initiative began February 1st, Japan has begun asking the country’s citizens to donate electronic scrap in order to create the gold, silver and bronze medals for the 2020 Olympic Games. Colin Staub of E-Scrap new reports, “The goal is to collect 88 pounds of gold, 10,800 pounds of silver and 6,500 pounds of bronze,” allowing for the creation of the 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals needed. The effort looks to remove an estimated 3,500 tons of electronic waste from the environment.

"There's quite a limit on the resources of our earth, and so recycling these things and giving them a new use will make us all think about the environment," Tokyo 2020 Sports Director Koji Murofushi told a news conference.

The move is also part of an effort to promote sustainability and save costs after the budget for the event ballooned to more than 3 trillion yen ($26.5 billion) at one point, though organizers reduced that sum to $16.8 billion late last year, according to Reuters News.

1. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-tokyo-medals-idUSKBN15G426
2. https://resource-recycling.com/e-scrap/2017/02/09/e-scrap-utilized-2020-olympic-medals/#more-4077