All medals for 2020 Olympic Games composed of 100 percent recycled materials
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/25
By: Zin Kao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the design of the gold, silver, and bronze medals for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday (July 24), the Liberty Times reports.
One of the most notable features of the medals is that they are made only with recycled materials extracted from electronic waste. Even the ribbons are made of recycled synthetic fibers, emphasizing the importance of sustainable development.
The committee received 421 design proposals, among which Junichi Kawanishi’s (川西純市) work was chosen. The metal materials used in making the medals came from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government recycling centers, mobile phone corporations such as NTT Docomo, and donations from the general public.
The “urban mining” (都市鉱山) project harvested 30.3 kilograms of gold, 4,100 kilograms of silver, and 27,00 kilograms of bronze from more than 50,000 tons of electronic waste, such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. A total 5,000 medals, each one 8.5 centimeters in diameter, were made for the games.
