Due to concerns about the spread of a new virus called COVID-19, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, have been postponed for one year. The Games will kick off in July 2021. At that time, athletes will compete for nearly 5,000 Olympic medals. But those medals will be crafted differently from ones used in the past. They’ll be made with recycled metal.
Organizers wanted the Summer Games to be more Earth-friendly. Across Japan, citizens were asked to donate unwanted phones, tablets, cameras, and other small electronic devices. They turned in nearly 80,000 tons of e-waste!
Workers removed metals from the gadgets that could be repurposed into the awards. The effort is not only a win for the athletes, it’s a win for Earth too!