TOKYO 2020 medallists will become the first in the history of the Olympics and Paralympics to win medals made out of recycled electrical goods.
And the precious prizes have been crafted from more than SIX MILLION reused mobile phone parts.
The creation of the environmentally-friendly gold, silver and bronze awards are all part of an effort by organisers to make this year’s competition as eco-conscious as possible.
The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games, which is this year’s biggest sporting event, takes place today.
It is the second time the capital city of Japan has hosted the Olympics with the first being back in 1964.
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It is reported a whopping 79,000 tonnes of small electrical goods – including 6.21million used phones – were reconstructed into medals ahead of the contest.
The items – which took two years to gather – have been turned into 5000 gold, silver and bronze medals.
And two-time Olympic decathlete champion Ashton Eaton, 33, is among the sports aces backing recycled goods being awarded to athletes.
The American, who is the heptathlon indoor world record holder, said: “I have always been a fan of people who do things differently – of those who try to move the needle in a positive way.
“The weight of a medal around your neck is always a good weight,”
“And when an athlete at Tokyo wins a medal, the weight of it will not be from the gold, silver or bronze; it will be the weight of a nation.”
Yuki Arata, the Tokyo Games director of sustainability added: “We hope that the approach we are taking for these Olympics, for example utilising timber to make benches for public facilities for local areas will remain in (people’s) minds as a good memory of these Olympics to be passed on to the next generation.”
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Other recycled inventions include Olympic uniforms produced entirely from reused plastic bottles.
The iconic torch used to light the flame to mark the start of the Tokyo Games is among the items made from reused products.
Aluminium waste from homes built as temporary shelters following a major earthquake in Japan in 2011 was used to construct the torch.
And competitors staying in the Athletes Village will be sleeping in recyclable cardboard beds.
At least 18,000 of these beds have been provided for athletes staying in the Village located at Tokyo Bay.
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Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
