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Winning athletes at the 2010 Olympic and
Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver are able to bask
in the glow of double glory - athletic success combined
with environmental kudos. |
The organisers of the Winter
Olympics may have angered environmental groups by
trucking in snow from more than a hundred miles away to tackle
the inclement weather, but at least the medals handed out
to successful competitors have been designed with the environment
in mind.
According to the firm that secured the prestigious deal to
make the models, Vancouver-based mining and metals company
- Teck
Resources - the medals will be the first ever to contain
metals recovered from processing the circuit boards from electronic
waste that would otherwise be destined for landfill.
Teck said it has provided 2.05kg of gold, 1,950kg of silver
and 903kg of copper sourced from its operations around the
world for use in more than 1,000 medals to be dished out over
the games.
Only a small proportion of the metal used in the medals has
been recovered from e-waste - accounting for 1.52 per cent
of the gold medals, just 0.122 per cent for the silver and
1.11 per cent of the copper medals that represent bronze.
However, the medals will be the first to contain metals recovered
from e-waste and are likely to set a standard for future Games.
"We're excited that these medals will contain recycled metal
recovered from end-of-life electronics, consistent with the
sustainability philosophy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,"
said Teck's chief executive Don Lindsay.
The recovered metal came from 6.8 metric tonnes of electronics
circuit boards collected and processed at Teck's facilities.
The electronic components were shredded, separated and heated
to recover the metals, which were combined with mined metal
from other sources.
The metals were then passed to the Royal Canadian Mint, which
produced the medals.
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