BY JACOB LAUING From Mashable

For those who’ve dreamt of taking a selfie with Olympic superstar Simone Biles, this might be the closest your smartphone will ever get to her.

Olympics organizers are hoping to construct medals for Tokyo 2020 from recycled smartphones.

“Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals will be made out of people’s thoughts and appreciation for avoiding waste,” said three-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Kohei Uchimura, per The Japan Times. “I think there is an important message in this for future generations.”

The committee hopes to amass eight tons of metal — enough to produce 5,000 medals — by installing collection boxes in more than 2,400 Japanese mobile carrier stores across the country.

The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver featured some medals built from recycled circuit boards, but Tokyo 2020 will be the first Olympic games where 100 percent of the gold medals will be made from recycled materials.

“The weight of a medal around your neck is always a good weight,” said American former decathlete Ashton Eaton. “And when an athlete at Tokyo wins a medal, the weight of it will not be from the gold, silver or bronze; it will be the weight of a nation.”

IMAGE: Britain’s Amy Tinkler, United States Simone Biles and Aly Raisman at Rio 2016. IMAGE: HEULER ANDREY/AGIF/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

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