Apple is using more recycled materials in its products than ever before. In a newly released report, the tech-giant company has unveiled the first time certified recycled gold. It has doubled the use of recycled rare earth elements, cobalt, and tungsten. It’s stunning to know that in 2021, nearly 20% of all materials used in Apple devices was recycled.
Apple prominently uses the recycled products in the Mac, iPhone, and other devices to decrease climate change and control its worsening impact on human life. Apple is working on multiple fronts to counteract the challenge of climate change. It has also reduced the use of plastic by up to 4% across its all products in 2021. Apple intends to spread awareness through its pragmatic approach of using recycled material in all Apple devices. It would also use the educational resources, World Wildlife Fund, and curated content to spread the awareness of preserving our ecosystem.
The practical step of using recycled material in Apple products can generate a ripple effect across industries. In 2021, an enormous amount of 59% of aluminum in shipped Apple products came from recycled products. Even some of the Apple products contained 100% recycled material, especially within the enclosure.
The trillion-dollar worth company wants to outrightly end the use of plastic by 2025. It is important to know that, since 2015, Apple has reduced using plastic up to 75% in packaging. However, in 2021, the amount of plastic use was decreased to 4% only. So, let’s know more about Apple’s recycled materials and how Apple wants to defeat climate change.
Apple is using recycled and sourced material
Apple is a pioneer of innovation and change. Climate change is deteriorating the air quality and bringing unpredictable misfortunes in different forms. Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, rising sea levels, and increasing heat across the planet are alarming the big tech giants to take the initiative. Apple wants to instigate change across industries worldwide.
Image Credits: Apple’s Daisy robot
To build a consensus to fight against climate change, Apple has introduced a breathtaking recycling innovation, Taz. It can retrieve material from traditional electronic recycling. More importantly, Apple has used more recycled material in Apple devices than ever before.
Percentage of recycled materials in Apple devices
Let’s look at the different recycled materials concerning the percent used in Apple devices.
Apple will use for the first time certified recycled gold in the plating of the main logic board and wire of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. Apple has built an industry-leading traceability to build a gold supply chain of only recycled content.
30% certified recycled tin
Apple’s all devices such as iPad, iPhone, AirPods, and Mac devices will use the 30% certified recycled tin in the solder of their main logic boards.
Since Apple started using recycled material in Apple devices, this is the most significant increase.
Apple will use the 13% recycled cobalt in iPhone batteries that the recycling robot Daisy can dissemble.
Reduced mining and increased use of recycled material
Apple wants to bring a genuine change by using more recycled materials in Apple devices. It can become a hallmark of the modern age if Apple decreases the mining for finding metals.
Apple claims that recyclers can recover about 2,000 metric tons of mined rock from material taken apart from just one metric of iPhone. Besides, using recycled material, Apple wants to extend the life of Apple devices.
It is amazing to know that in 2021, Apple sent 12.2 million devices to new owners to use and this decreased the need for mining for more material. Apple wants to use only recycled material for making new devices according to the plan of 2017.
Apple’s robots for recycling rare earth metals
To advance this initiative and to get success, Apple has introduced a shredder-like technology in the shape of a machine called Taz. It separates magnets from audio modules and retrieves more rare earth metals.
Apple’s new recycling pathways material recovery lab| Image credit: Apple
Apple is spearheading the plan to use the recycled material as multiple new machines such as Daisy. The patent iPhone disassembly robot Daisy will take apart 23 models of iPhone. Apple has given additional licenses to other companies for free.
Moreover, in a series of ventures, Apple introduced the Dave robot as well. It can disassemble Taptic Engines and help to recover more rare earth metals such as steel, tungsten, and magnets.
Concluding remarks
Climate crises around the world are becoming a source of trouble for communities. Addressing climate change at this critical juncture is the most important thing Apple is doing now. Apple’s vice president of the Environment, Lisa Jackson said, “We are making actual progress in our work to address the climate crisis. Our innovative approach to address climate change will one day enable us to make Apple products taking nothing from the earth.”
To make it happen, Apple is using recycled products more than ever before. It is using nickel, cobalt, tungsten, and certified recycled gold. To spearhead the mission toward a clean and stable environment, Apple has also introduced some robots, such as Daisy, Taz, and Davy. Apple is a pioneer of change and innovation and, by addressing climate change pragmatically, Apple has proven it.
