Apple® today announced a major expansion of its recycling programs,
quadrupling the number of locations US customers can send their
iPhone® to be disassembled by Daisy, its recycling robot. Daisy will
disassemble and recycle select used iPhones returned to Best Buy stores
throughout the US and KPN retailers in the Netherlands. Customers can
also turn in their eligible devices to be recycled at any Apple
Store® or through apple.com as
part of the Apple
Trade In program.
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Daisy, Apple’s recycling robot, will now disassemble used iPhones returned to Best Buy in the US and KPN in the Netherlands. (Photo: Business Wire)
Apple has received nearly 1 million devices through Apple programs and
each Daisy can disassemble 1.2 million devices per year. In 2018, the
company refurbished more than 7.8 million Apple devices and helped
divert more than 48,000 metric tons of electronic waste from landfills.
“Advanced recycling must become an important part of the electronics
supply chain, and Apple is pioneering a new path to help push our
industry forward,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of
Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We work hard to design
products that our customers can rely on for a long time. When it comes
time to recycle them, we hope that the convenience and benefit of our
programs will encourage everyone to bring in their old devices.”
Daisy is now able to disassemble 15 different iPhone models at the rate
of 200 per hour, recovering even more important materials for re-use.
Once materials have been recovered from Daisy, they are recycled back
into the manufacturing process. For cobalt, which is a key battery
material, Apple sends iPhone batteries recovered by Daisy upstream in
its supply chain. They are then combined with scrap from select
manufacturing sites and, for the first time, cobalt recovered through
this process is now being used to make brand-new Apple batteries — a
true closed loop for this precious material.
Apple also uses 100 percent recycled tin in a key component of the main
logic boards of 11 different products. The company’s engineering of an
aluminum alloy made from 100 percent recycled aluminum allows the new
MacBook Air® and Mac mini® to have nearly half the carbon footprint of
earlier models. Starting this year, aluminum recovered through the Apple
Trade In program is being remelted into the enclosures for the MacBook
Air.
To further its research on recycling, Apple today also announced the
opening of its Material Recovery Lab dedicated to discovering future
recycling processes. The new 9,000-square-foot facility in
Austin, Texas, will look for innovative solutions involving robotics and
machine learning to improve on traditional methods like targeted
disassembly, sorting and shredding. The Lab will work with Apple
engineering teams as well as academia to address and propose solutions
to today’s industry recycling challenges.
Apple continues to expand its programs to ensure devices are used for as
long as possible. The number of Apple Stores and network of Authorized
Service Providers has grown to over 5,000 worldwide. Last fall, Apple
rolled out a new method for optimizing iPhone screen repairs that allows
thousands more independent shops to offer the service. Apple also
launched a battery replacement and recycling program for all of its
products.
Today, Apple released its 2019 Environment report, which
contains additional information on the company’s climate change
solutions, including its recent announcement that 44 of its
suppliers have committed to 100 percent renewable energy for their Apple
production. The report can be viewed at apple.com/environment.
The company will be celebrating Earth Day on April 22
with environmentally themed Today at Apple® sessions at all Apple
Stores, and will be featuring original stories and collections of apps
and games on the App Store® to help people honor the Earth and consider
their role in the natural ecosystem. Apple’s Earth Day Challenge also
encourages Apple Watch® wearers to complete any outdoor workout of 30
minutes or more to earn a special Earth Day Award and stickers for
Messages.1
Apple will also be supporting the efforts of environmentally-focused
non-profits Conservation International, SEE Foundation and The Recycling
Partnership — expanding on its conservation and resource efficiency work
from last year.
1 In order to see the Activity challenge, users must
have iOS 12.1.3 and watchOS 5.1.3, or later.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the
Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with
iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software
platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences
across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services
including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more
than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on
earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
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© 2019 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone,
Apple Store, MacBook Air, Mac mini, Today at Apple, App Store and Apple
Watch are trademarks of Apple Inc. Other company and product names may
be trademarks of their respective owners.
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