Going for gold: a WEEE recycling success story

CCL is always pleased to see innovative uses of recycled electronic equipment across fields like technology and the arts. In Tokyo, an initiative highlights this by producing all medals for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games from recycled waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). With around 5,000 medals needed, this initiative poses a significant challenge for organisers.

CCL is always pleased to see innovative uses of recycled electronic equipment across fields like technology and the arts. Our planet has a finite supply of certain elements, metals, and resources, and by creating new items from old ones, we can reduce disposal and recycling costs and save important resources. 

Sustainability Targets

At the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, approximately 30% of the silver and bronze used for all medals came from recycled materials, so the Tokyo 2020 target of 100% is ambitious. Starting in 2017, the project set targets to recover 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver, and 2,700kg of bronze from smartphones, laptops, and other recycled electronic equipment.

By June 2019, the bronze collection target was met, with approximately 90% of gold and 85% of silver collected by October 2019 (BBC News, 2020). The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee itself estimated that by March 2019, 79,000 tonnes of electronic devices, including approximately 6.2 million old phones, had been donated and collected. 

WEEE Collection



In April 2017, when the project started, there were 624 participating municipal authorities in Japan handling WEEE waste collection; by March 2019, this was 1,621. As the world's eyes turn to Tokyo for the games, this is a fantastic example of how one high-profile project can have a long-term, positive impact on sustainable living and environmental protection. The country has united in embracing electronic waste recycling and the sustainable repurposing of electronic equipment.

At CCL (North) Ltd., we are committed to safe and environmentally friendly WEEE recycling and IT disposal. Electronic waste may no longer serve its primary function; however, that doesn't make it useless. As companies retire IT systems, we can recycle the materials for future use, and we encourage all industries to implement appropriate WEEE recycling and IT disposal protocols.

Contact us to arrange a call and see how we can help with your WEEE recycling.