Japan has found a new way to reuse its old phones - to build medals for the 2020 Olympics.

The 2020 Olympic Games is still four years away, but organizers already have set their eyes on the prize. Japan is looking to dig into its urban pockets rather than its mines to create medals. If the proposal is accepted, athletes at the 2020 games in Tokyo could be awarded medals made from recycled parts found in old cell phones and small gadgets.

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According to the Nikkei Asian Review, officials look forward to bring additional awareness to the country's "e-waste" issues that led to a 2009 Japanese law being passed that made it mandatory to recycle home appliances - namely air conditioners, TVs, washing machines, personal computers, refrigerators and mobile phones.

While recycling the materials needed for Olympics medals might seem far-fetched, the numbers certainly add up. The London Olympic games used 9.6kg of gold, 1,210kg of silver and 700kg of copper (the primary ingredient used when making bronze) in producing medals. By comparison, in 2014 Japan's urban mine grew by an estimated 143kg of gold, 1,566kg of silver and 1,112 tons of copper, all sitting inside electronics nobody wants anymore.

Japan has an estimated 16 percent of the world's gold and 22 percent of the planet's silver currently living inside gadgets.

Yuko Sakita, from the non-profit organization Genki Net for Creating a Sustainable Society, one of the groups working with organizers on the proposal, told Nikkei the idea could be used to help boost public awareness about recycling.

"In order for all Japanese people to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, we are asking companies to propose a concrete collection proposal and would like to work with the Olympic organizing committee to realize the proposal," Sakita said. 

But there might be a slight hiccup along the way; it might prove difficult in convincing people to donate their belongings. Japan already has a recycling system where precious materials are used to make new electronic devices.