Everybody craves to get a gold medal, because it means that for one day (or longer), you were the best at something out of the entire world. The Olympics are no exception, with the medal designs for both the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics games, both held in Vancouver, being unveiled today. But the medals are not exactly what we are here to discuss, but because they have been made with old circuit boards.

Yes, that little bit of that circuit board from your laptop, and any used consumer electronics, that you recycled could potentially be part of one of the biggest, most abstract and heaviest medals in Olympics history.

The medals will come in two different shapes – a circular shaped medal that will be used for the Olympics, and a squared circle medal for the Paralympics. Each medal will weigh between 500 to 576 grams, depending on the medal, and will feature a signature artwork at the front – meaning that no two medals are the same.

Each artwork that will be featured on the front of the medal are pieces of a much larger artwork of an orca whale (Olympics) or a raven (Paralympics), and a silk scarf will be handed in conjunction with the medal to help  the athlete locate the other pieces.

The commissioned report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers said that the community and commercial behaviours have to change in relation to recycling, with a tax to pay for their disposal is an option that has to be considered by the council.

The new tax, which is said to be adding an average of $30 on a price of a TV or a computer, has been called a “a billion-dollar scam” by retailers, according to Sunday Herald Sun; and computer users have also criticised the move.

“It’s just slugging the consumer. Computers are expensive enough as it is,” former president of the Melbourne PC Users Group, Lyn Goodall, said to the newspaper.

Other possible ways to increase recycling, which is currently around 10 percent, that were mentioned in the report include public education; or, a collection scheme at a local or state government or the industry itself. Also discussed was making the scheme mandatory for the local councils, or banning televisions and computers from landfills.

Australia does have recycling services for computers and televisions; but the State of Victoria, along with computer manufactures, have established a computer recycling program called Byteback. However, it is set to end sometime in the second half of 2009, because Sustainability Victoria (a government agency) is to review its progress.

To find more recycling locations, go to Planet Ark’s RecyclingNearYou.com.au, where you can find many other locations on recycling technology.