Tokyo to make Olympic medals from used phones

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has joined in a project to recycle used cell phones and other electronic devices to make Olympic and Paralympic medals out of metals extracted from the devices. Tokyo officials set up a recycling box inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday. To protect personal information stored on phones, equipment to punch holes through them is available. Governor Yuriko Koike said she brought 3 used phones from home. She said she hoped the recycling will help raise public interest in the 2020 Games. The project is being coordinated by the Organizing Committee for the 2020 Tokyo Games. The Committee says the Tokyo Games will involve 5,000 medals and their production will require 10 kilograms of gold, 1,230 kilograms of silver and 736 kilograms of copper. The Committee says 20 million cell phones would supply all the metals needed. The Committee is planning to set up recycling...