{"id":77171,"date":"2019-03-06T21:41:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T03:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=77171"},"modified":"2019-03-15T10:54:16","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T15:54:16","slug":"your-old-cellphone-could-become-the-medals-for-2020-tokyo-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/your-old-cellphone-could-become-the-medals-for-2020-tokyo-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Your old cell phone could become the medals for 2020 Tokyo Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cyan Zhong<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

If you live in Japan, you might have a chance to see top athletes all over the world wear your old phones on their necks next summer.<\/p>\n

Well, not quite, but close. The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has been collecting used electronics all over Japan, including old cellphones and home appliances. The plan is to extract the metal and make – you guessed it – Olympic medals.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Japanese factory is melting the electronics to extract the metal within. (\u24b8 Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Medal Project,\u201d as the committee calls it, is a big part of sustainability innovations ahead of the games. Kicked off in April 2017, the project is now near the finish line – March marks the last month of collection, said Tatsuo Ogura, senior manager of international communications for the committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started this project in 2017, we expected it to finish in two years,\u201d Ogura said. \u201cWe are on the right track and we almost met with the goal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The committee fulfilled the 2,700-kilogram goal of bronze collection last June. In October, it met 93.7 percent of the target for salvaging gold and 85.4 percent for silver, Ogura said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A total of 1,500 municipalities across Japan are involved in the medal project, and they put the signature yellow donation boxes at post offices or street corners for citizens to donate their used devices, Ogura said. They can also donate at 2,400 NTT DOCOMO stores nationwide, Japan\u2019s predominant mobile phone operator.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that, by supporting schemes like the medal project which encourage participation by the public, we can draw attention to the importance of recycling and help realize an environmentally friendly and sustainable society,\u201d a NTT Docomo representative said in an email. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The yellow donation box allows people all over Japan to donate their used electronic devices. Many athletes are on board with the project and signed their names to back the cause. (Cyan Zhong\/Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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