Apple to make all its products from recycled materials
Tech giant ramps up efforts to reduce mining, but reports say fully recycled devices are some way off
Apple has set itself a goal of manufacturing products that contain only recycled materials as it tries to "reduce the need to mine materials from the earth".
In its environmental report, the Cupertino-based company says its exploring a "closed-loop supply chain, where products are made using only renewable resources or recycled material".
It plans on achieving this by investing in technology that can reclaim minerals from its products and encouraging customers to return products under its Renew recycling scheme.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Its pledge could be seen as a reaction to the criticism the technology industry has encountered in recent years for using "conflicted minerals" such as tin and cobalt, says the Financial Times, which are "mined from sites controlled by violent militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo and nearby areas."
Apple does appear to be ramping up efforts to move away from these minerals. Greenpeace analyst Gary Cook told Vice the tech giant seems to be the only company fully committed to "making everything 100 per cent out of recycled materials".
He added: "Other companies have commitments on using a certain amount of recycled plastic", although he said he was "not aware of a company that size that has made a similar commitment".
However, "the day that [Apple's] aspiration becomes reality may yet be far in the future", says ArsTechnica. Its Liam recycling robot can only dismantle 2.4 million units per year - which is "far lower than what Apple sells".
Nevertheless, the firm is "using 100 per cent recycled tin in logic boards for the iPhone 6S", the website adds, as well as recycling "aluminium reclaimed from old iPhone 6 models to make Mac Minis for iPhone assembly lines".
Apple has yet to announce a time limit of when it plans to use 100 per cent recycled materials, although more details may emerge during its iPhone conference later this year.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Google Maps gets an AI upgrade to compete with Apple
Under the Radar The Google-owned Waze, a navigation app, will be getting similar upgrades
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How will the introduction of AI change Apple's iPhone?
Today's Big Question 'Apple Intelligence' is set to be introduced on the iPhone 16 as part of iOS 18
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
FDA OKs Apple AirPods as OTC hearing aids
Speed read The approved software will turn Apple's AirPods Pro 2 headphones into over-the-counter hearing aids
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will the Google antitrust ruling shake up the internet?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for users?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Apple unveils AI integration, ChatGPT partnership
Speed Read AI capabilities will be added to a bulked-up Siri and other apps, in partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Apple Intelligence: iPhone maker set to overhaul the AI experience
In the Spotlight A 'top-to-bottom makeover of the iPhone' sees the tech giant try to win the consumer AI game
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published