A new report by Nikkei claims that Olympic organizers are trying to figure out a way to produce the medals that will be given out at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan by making them out of recycled electronics donated by residents. This could vary from smartwatches to TVs, phones to tablets, and even laptops to desktop PCs. If it’s considered e-waste, the organizers wanna hear about it.
“We need a system that makes it easy for consumers to turn in used consumer electronics,” said Takeshi Kuroda, president of ReNet Japan Group, an Obu, Aichi Prefecture-based company that purchases and sells used home appliances. ReNet is among the companies backing the plan to make Olympic medals from electronic waste.
While this sounds like a pretty good idea, it’s worth mentioning that Japan is already using a vast majority of e-waste to actually produce more electronics. So at the moment, there doesn’t appear to be much waste that’s… going to waste.
However, there’s still plenty possibility that the goal may be reached after all and Olympians in 2020 could be wearing used electronics around their necks. But at the moment, Olympic organizers want companies to come together and think of a good way to collect enough hardware to produce as gold, silver, and bronze medals for Japan 2020. Otherwise, other methods of constructing these awards will likely have to be used.
Source: Nikkei via The Next Web
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