Recycle that phone

I heard about a really, really fascinating recycling project going on in Japan right now.  As the country prepares for the Olympics in 2020, there is a lot of work to be done.  Buildings are under construction.  Tourist destinations are receiving facelifts.  Everything is under scrutiny.  People are also working on the details that make the Olympics the Olympics.

The Olympic medals are one of the most prominent features of the Olympics.  It is the goal of each athlete competing - get one or more of those medals! 

The host country traditionally obtains the metal for the gold, silver, and bronze awards from domestic mining firms.  Japan does not have the mines needed to collect these resources.  Instead of outsourcing, the officials decided to use what they already have.  They are asking the Japanese public to recycle their old cell phones and small appliances because reusing and repurposing is what they do. 

The electronics will be broken down and separated.  Smartphones and tablets contain small amounts of precious and rare earth metals, including platinum, palladium, gold, silver, lithium, cobalt, and nickel.  I don't pretend to understand all the details.  But the concept is very interesting and exciting.

There are collection boxes at city offices and other locations throughout Japan.  They will remain there until the estimated 8 tons of metal have been collected to make the 5,000 medals that are made for both the Olympic and Paralympic games.

I'm curious to see what the medals will look like made from all these collected parts.  It's definately an interesting idea.  When discussing with one of my friends, she excitedly told me she already donated an old phone and camera.  She gets to be part of history.  How cool!