Tokyo 2020 unveils Olympic medals made from recycled smarthpones
The gold, silver and bronze used in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals was harvested from more than six million donated smartphones weighing 78,000 tonnes
Yesterday marked one year to go until the Tokyo Olympics of 2020, and the unveiling of the gold, silver and bronze Olympic and Paralympic medals, which are made from recycled smartphones donated by the public.
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The medals, which feature Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on the front, and the Tokyo 2020 symbol and Olympic rings on the back, were designed by Junichi Kawanishi, a graphic artist from Osaka. Kawanishi competed with several hundred other designers for the right to create the medals, and had to keep the news of his selection secret until yesterday.
Various reports claimed that more than six million smartphones weighing 78,000 tonnes were collected from the public for harvesting the metal needed for the medals, a coup for the cause of sustainability of the Games.
Beautiful @Tokyo2020 medals @Olympics @olympicchannel pic.twitter.com/JPq6AgPAOC
— Nadia Comaneci (@nadiacomaneci10) July 24, 2019
The medals are relatively small–85 millimetres in diameter, and vary in thickness across the surface of the medal from 7.7 mm to 12.1 mm.
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