Tokyo Olympic organizers said in a statement Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, they expect to collect enough obsolete electronic devices by the end of March to reach the amount that will be required to manufacture all Olympic and Paralympic medals. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Smartphone today, Olympic gold tomorrow.
Materials from discarded smartphones, digital cameras and other obsolete handheld games and laptops will form the medals that will be distributed at the 2020 Olympics. Targeted amounts of bronze, silver and gold will be extracted from the discarded devices with quotas expected to be reached by March 31.
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The recycling plan was launched in 2017. The goal was to obtain 66 pounds of gold, 9,000 pounds of silver and 5,900 pounds of bronze, according to the BBC. The target for bronze was reportedly met in June.
“It is estimated that the remaining amounts of metal required to manufacture all Olympic and Paralympic medals can be extracted from the devices already donated,” organizers said in a statement.
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In the 2016 Olympics, about 30 percent of the silver and bronze medals were made of recycled material.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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