Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals will be made from old mobile phones and other portable electronics. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be launching the project on the 16th February and collection of old electronics will first start in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, before rolling out other national collection points in April.

As of tomorrow, collection will begin a single collection box next to a convenience store in the Metropolitan Government building. The national collection will begin in April and collection boxes are being installed in over 2,400 NTT DOCOMO stores and in several public offices throughout Japan. In addition to mobile phones, the project will be collecting laptop computers, digital cameras and other electronic devices, with different collection points according to the type of device.

The project will see precious metals such as gold, silver and bronze recycled from discarded mobile phones and other small electronic devices, for the production of the medals. They plan to produce a total of 5,000 gold, silver and bronze Olympic and Paralympic medals.

The initiative started as a petition (link is Japanese) in September 2016 by the Eco Materials Forum and Sustainable Design Institute. They proposed to make medals with recycled gadgets and the proposal was approved and adapted by the Olympic planning committee in November.

According to the medal project page, the initiative shows “Tokyo 2020’s commitment to actively engage the general public and offer everyone the opportunity to play a role in the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games… The aim of the project is not merely limited to producing medals to be awarded at the Tokyo 2020 Games, but also includes leaving the post-Games legacy of realising a sustainable society.”

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee is working closely with NTT DOCOMO, the Japan Environmental Sanitation Center, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of the Environment for the medal project.