Japan is mining e-waste for
2020 Olympic medals
2020 Olympic medals © Getty Images
Japan is a small country that is creative with their waste. Next year is their turn to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games and they are drawing attention to the issue of e-waste in a beautiful way. While the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 managed to use 30% of recycled e-waste for their silver and bronze medals, the Japanese recycling initiative is set to salvage enough gold, silver and bronze for all 5,000 medals.
Electronic Waste Recycling Plant © JEPLAN, INC.
Since early 2017, an incredible 47,488 tons of discarded laptops, mobile phones, gaming gadgets, and digital cameras have been donated to the dubbed “Tokyo 2020 Medals Project”. In order to raise awareness about e-waste all over the country, the government mobilized the public and businesses to donate all their obsolete electronics for the cause. To draw global attention to the growing issue of environmental sustainability, Tokyo’s slogan for the games is: ‘Be better, together—for the planet and the people.’
-Tina Ateljevic
Banner Image: Artist: Veronika Richterová
Photo by Michal Cihlář