So many of us watched the gold medals being passed to the champions at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Bronze, silver, and gold medallions were worn by world class athletes. We doubt, however, that you were wondering how exactly those medals came to be. Yes, they’re gold medals, but would you believe us if we told you that a percentage of that gold was actually made from recovered precious metals from e-waste? Well, believe it because it is true.

E-waste, if you were wondering, is the newly devised term for broken electronic devices. This waste contains dangerous substances such as lead, beryllium, and cadmium and is also hazardous to the environment during disposal due to incinerator ashes and heavy metals in landfills.

While it may be a small percentage, around 1.52 percent of the gold worn around these champions’ necks was recovered from e-waste. This is a perfect example of exactly how disused circuit boards from electronic devices can be recycled and reused.

At approximately forty million tons of e-waste being produced each year, the e-waste situation is becoming increasingly problematic and is predicted to become much worse in the next decade.

To add insult to injury, the e-waste that is currently produced is not always handled correctly. This often creates hazardous and toxic environments for workers and the local environment. Sounds like a mess? It is.

There is some good news, as we can see in our shiny Olympic Medals. The good news being: new ways of recycling this e-waste and reusing it are being experimented with and discovered. New recycling and disposal devices are being manufactured and planned by engineers across the globe.

There is however, quite the glimmer of hope provided by the shiny gold medals we all saw in Vancouver. The proof is in the pudding as they say, and the medals are surely showing everyone that e-waste can and will be recycled more effectively.