What does this Stockport sculpture and Olympic medals have in common?

• Report by Granada Reports journalist Claire Hannah

What do more than six million mobile phones, a sculpture in Stockport, and our Olympic and Paralympic medal winners have in common?

The answer is electronic waste, known as E-waste, and the recycling of it.

For the first time ever this year, all the medals handed out at Tokyo 2020 were made entirely from recycled metal after a pioneering project in Japan.

Between 2017 and 2019 people across the country donated almost 80,000 tonnes of small electrical devices, including more than six million old mobile phones.

All these devices were dismantled and the precious metal inside them was smelted down and used to make all the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals handed out.

This is the first time this has ever happened and is part of a special project to promote sustainability and recycling.

As the North West won more medals at the Tokyo Olympics than any other region in the UK, and with us coming second in the UK medal tally at the Paralympics, we thought we would ask our most decorated Paralympian what she thought of the project.

Another company impressed with the games in Tokyo highlighting the problem with E waste is Music Magpie, based in Stockport.

It commissioned a giant sculpture made entirely of old electrical items to highlight what is a growing problem.

Mount Recyclemore depicts the G7 leaders, including Boris Johnson, and is made from more than 20 thousand old gadgets, including mobile phones, computers, toasters, kettles and even lawnmowers.

It has been made to highlight the fact only 20% of E-Waste in the UK is recycled, and to make people aware of the devastating impact it can have on the environment.

Various ways to recycle your old E waste:

• Donated unwanted items to a charitable organisation.

• Sell to online retailers who will refurbish them and sell them on

• Take it to a designated collection facility, which your local authority should have more information on.