Amaya Toman Apple is expanding its recycling program in several ways this year. As part of its efforts to be more environmentally friendly, the company will quadruple the number of its recycling facilities in the United States. Used iPhones will be accepted for recycling at these locations. At the same time, a laboratory called the Material Recovery Lab was launched in Texas to research and improve future steps that Apple wants to take to improve the environment.
In the past, Apple has already introduced its robot named Daisy, whose task is to dismantle selected used iPhones returned by customers of the Best Buy network of stores in the USA, but also in Apple Stores or via Apple.com as part of the Apple Trade In program. So far, nearly one million devices have been returned to Apple for recycling. During 2018, the recycling program recovered 7,8 million Apple devices, saving 48000 metric tons of e-waste.
Currently, Daisy is able to disassemble fifteen iPhone models at a rate of 200 pieces per hour. The material that Daisy produces is fed back into the manufacturing process, including cobalt, which for the first time is mixed with scrap from factories and used to make new Apple batteries. Starting this year, aluminum will also be used for the production of MacBook Airs as part of the Apple Trade In program.
The Material Recovery Lab is located in a 9000 square foot facility in Austin, Texas. Here, Apple plans to work with bots and machine learning to further improve its existing methods. Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of the environment, said that advanced recycling methods must become an integral part of electronic supply chains, adding that Apple strives to make its products last as long as possible for customers.
Source: AppleInsider
