Apple is giving customers new ways to recycle their iPhones. It is part of the company's long-term goal of using only recycled or renewable materials to make its products.
Apple published its 2019 Environment Report, which describes the steps it is taking to help protect the environment from the negative impacts of its own business.
Last year, the company introduced an iPhone recycling robot called Daisy. Now you have two of these robots. Each of them can disassemble 1.2 million used iPhones per year and recover their valuable materials. Apple says that thanks to the new updates, Daisy can also disassemble 15 different types of iPhones. You can take 200 separate phones per hour.
Before creating Daisy, Apple used a recycling robot called Liam. Daisy is about a third the size of its predecessor and has more advanced capabilities.
For the first time, the materials recovered by Daisy are being introduced in Apple's new products this year. For example, aluminum extracted by robots from a previous iPhone is being reused in the new Macbook Air laptops, according to the company.
"Technology is about getting innovations to reach potential customers as quickly as possible, and I don't think many people are considering using recycled material as part of that innovation." – Apple CEO
Apple is also trying to make it easier for people to bring their old iPhones to Daisy robots. For example, customers can return eligible models to Best Buy stores in the United States and Daisy will take them apart. Users can also deliver devices for recycling at Apple stores or online through Apple's exchange program.
The company is also opening a new "Materials Recovery Laboratory" in Austin, Texas. The 836 square meter facility will work to find new ways to recycle using robotics and machine learning.
In 2016, the world produced 44.7 million metric tons of electronic waste, and only 20% of them were properly recycled, according to a 2017 report by the United Nations University and other organizations. Electronic waste includes discarded electronic products, such as televisions, cell phones and refrigerators.
Apple says it restored more than 7.8 million of its devices in 2018 and helped divert more than 48,000 metric tons of electronic waste so they don't end up in landfills.
Last year, the company announced that all its retail stores, data centers and corporate offices now run on 100% clean energy.
