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Apple is taking steps to end its reliance on mining for the materials that it uses in its devices, becoming the first big tech company to commit to using only recycled metals, rare earths, and other minerals. The company outlined its aim to stop digging up new resources in its latest Environmental Responsibility Report (PDF), released today. In the document, Apple says that it plans to “one day” move to a closed-loop manufacturing system (in which it can get all the metals and rare earths it needs from recycle and reuse programs), but that it’s not entirely sure how to get to that point.
That goal was backed up by an interview with Vice, in which Lisa Jackson — Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives — said that the company was committing “to not necessarily having to source from the earth for everything that we need,” but that it didn’t have a complete roadmap yet. “We’re actually doing something we rarely do, which is announce a goal before we’ve completely figured out how to do it,” she said.
The company says it already has schemes in place for some materials. For aluminum, it is relying on old Apple products — the only source of the metal on the market that it considers high enough grade to be reused in future iPhones, iPads, and other devices. For tin, however, it’s happy to use a more general supply, specifying that recycled material from other sources meets its quality standards.
In working out which materials to prioritize, Apple created “Material Risk Profiles,” judging the environmental and social impact of obtaining the various resources it uses. It then weighed those profiles up against how it uses the materials, how often they are included in products, and where the company could make the most difference. The profiles aim to help Apple systematically tackle the sourcing of each material until mining for new resources is no longer necessary, but that transition won’t be immediate — not all of the materials used in Apple products even have recycling procedures in place yet.
To that end, Apple says it also aims to drive improvements in the recycling industry, inventing new processes or sparking changes in policy that could see more metals, minerals, and rare earths drawn out of old devices. It points to “Liam” — a disassembly line of robots that can pull apart old iPhone 6 devices, saving far more of their precious innards than regular recycling processes like shredding are capable of — as an example of such new tech.
Apple’s move has been met with applause from environmental group Greenpeace. “This commitment, and Apple’s recent progress in transitioning its supply chain in Asia to renewable energy, puts it far ahead of others in the sector,” senior IT analyst Gary Cook said. “Major IT brands such as Samsung, Huawei, and Microsoft should quickly match Apple’s leadership, if they don’t want to risk falling even further behind.”
But while Apple’s announcement sounds like a promise, the company offers no concrete commitment on when it will move to a 100-percent recycling manufacturing system saying only that it was “challenging” itself to end its reliance on mining. The company has made impressive steps in reducing its environmental footprint in recent years, but how fast it transitions to closed-loop production — or even whether it can — remains to be seen.
Comments
One day…. when all the materials are dug up already!
Joking aside, it’s a great initiative. Announcing it now invites others to help give ideas too.
By Mothership on 04.19.17 9:07pm
That "one day" is still far away, though. Apple needs likes millions of tonnes of every thing per year, so recycling operation for that has to be absolutely giant.
Things like Apple’s Liam robots can only process like 3 million devices per years each, and Apple only has three of such robots so far.
Apple will need like 100 of such Liams to process all of its older devices per year. And even then it would not be equal to extracting all of the minerals from the parts disassembled — it is a separate incredibly hard process.
By UsernameAndPassword on 04.20.17 4:58am
Seems to me like no recycling system could have 100% return, and moreover even in a perfect world that they did, that would mean no increases in sales are accounted for. Not sure how a closed loop would ever work.
By tipoo on 04.19.17 9:54pm
The article mentioned that they are willing to buy from other sources, so it is "closed" in that all materials are recycled, but not shut off from a supply of used devices that were built of new material. It ensures that everything has been used at least once before without needing to actually achieve 100% efficiency. This makes sense in that they can still increase production volume without needing to first destroy their own older devices. This essentially motivates as close as possible to 100% recycling of metals that would otherwise be buried right back into the earth in a landfill.
By adnoxaei on 04.19.17 11:00pm
That will work for Apple, but as an aspirational model for the industry it will not work for the original reason unless they magically figure out how to make recycling 100% efficient.
And I say "aspirational" but in reality some form of sustainability will be necessary in electronics production given current design/manufacturing methods since the supply of rare earths will continue to diminish and become more and more scarce. That is, unless we start mining other planets.
By shabanga on 04.20.17 1:26am
Ohhh, duh. I blame nighttime for that last one
Didn’t even think that they’d buy non-Apple stuff to recycle, but that makes sense.
By tipoo on 04.20.17 4:48pm
The biggest problem to me is recycling the chips. Recycling the aluminum is easy, but what do you do with manufactured PoP or any SMD chips? What is there to recycle?
By somethingobvious on 04.19.17 10:38pm
Gold, tin, copper, gallium, zinc, and more can be extracted from chips, sensors, boards, and more. It involves some heavy processing and a lot of chemicals. As we push the boundaries of physics further we keep having to impregnate even more exotic materials into these parts, so the future could have even more to recover. It isn’t worth it in the sense that it is more difficult to recover from those sources than others, but Apple has the power and money to create newer more efficient methods of metal recovery while guaranteeing a price floor above the going market rate to companies that can comply with their standards.
By adnoxaei on 04.19.17 11:04pm
They will be made entirely of courage.
By marcprez on 04.20.17 12:00am
[slow clap]
By shabanga on 04.20.17 1:26am
Is this how easily good PR works these days? You don’t have to do it, just say you’d like to at some point. And you get applauded?
I’ll be making AIDS curing phones. I too am actually doing something I rarely do, which is announce a goal before I’ve completely (or in this case at all, really) figured out how to do it. Where’s my nobel prize? I’m far ahead of my peers with this hope.
Stay tuned for my next future venture, which is my hope to at some point in the distant future to move from commuting with a car to getting to work with a teleporter.
By BlackToe on 04.20.17 12:11am
LOL. Apple doesn’t need PR like that. The leaks about devices which might not even see the light of the day are enough to do it. It doesn’t even have to try.
By SierraKilo on 04.20.17 1:22am
Apple has the money and engineering capabilities to actually achieve what they’ve set out to do.
I’m not gonna hold my breath waiting for your AIDS curing phone.
By KadanaJ on 04.20.17 3:15am
What?
By starxd on 04.20.17 4:36am
I was replying to BlackToes comment…
There’s a difference between a company like Apple with massive resources making outrageous promises, versus some random bum on the internet.
By KadanaJ on 04.20.17 7:43am
Apple is deeply committed to the environment. They are now running on very close to 100% renewable energy. Their track record buys them credibility on this topic. They should be applauded, not criticized. No other company is even talking about this.
By starxd on 04.20.17 4:38am
I hope Tesla has plans to do this also!
By ἐλευθερία on 04.20.17 4:36am
Well let’s help them by not changing our telephone every year/2 years just "because we can"
By maneauleau on 04.20.17 8:53am