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The medals to be distributed to athletes at 2020 Tokyo Olympic  will be made from recycled and obsolete electronic products, organizers announced on Wednesday, as they look to give the Games an environmentally friendly hue.

“Medals made with recycled metals from discarded mobile phones and other electronic products can be a symbol of sustainability and public participation,” spokeswoman Hikariko Ono told reporters.

Ono said details, such as whether some or all of the medals will use recycled metals, will be decided later. Recycled medals have been used for the Games since the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010, Ono said. Gold and bronze medals using recycled metals were also made for this year’s Rio Olympics, she said.

It remains unclear whether the use of recycled metals would be cost efficient, though officials are keen to rein in soaring costs.Experts have said that the total Games budget could hit an eye-watering $30 billion—four times the initial estimate and almost triple that of the 2012 London Olympics.

 

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