Report: Apple Working with over 160 Recycling Companies Globally : Apple Recycling Scheme Recovers 27,800 tonnes of Materials from E-Waste Including 1 tonne of Gold

Cupertino, California based computing and electronic giant, Apple, collected over 60 million pounds (27,800 metric tonnes) of e-waste for recycling in 2015, from which is recovered 1 tonne of gold and 3 tonnes of silver as well as over 10,000 tonnes of steel, according to its latest Environmental Responsibility report.

The company said that this figure equated to 71% of the total weight of products that it sold seven years previously. It attributed this to its recycling collection events, take-back initiatives, and efforts like Apple Renew, a global program that lets customers bring used Apple devices to any Apple Store for reuse or recycling.

The report also said that Apple is also working with over 160 recyclers around the world, whose facilities are held to rigorous standards of environmental compliance, health and safety, and social responsibility. Through these efforts the company said that it has kept more than 597 million pounds (271,000 tonnes) of equipment out of landfills since 1994.

In 2015, of the 61,357,800 lbs (27,831 tonnes) of material recovered for reuse through take-back initiatives, the following materials were recycled:

Steel: 23,101,000 lbs (10,500) tonnes

Nickel: 39,672 lbs (18 tonnes)

Plastics: 13,422,360 lbs (6090 tonnes)

Lead: 44,080 lbs (20 tonnes)

Glass: 11,945,680 lbs (5420 tonnes)

Zinc: 130,036 lbs (59 tonnes)

Aluminium: 4,518,200 lbs (2050 tonnes)

Tin: 4408 lbs (2 tonnes)

Copper: 2,953,360 lbs (1340 tonnes

Silver: 6612 lbs (3 tonnes)

Colbalt: 189,544 lbs (6 tonnes)

Gold: 2204 lbs (1 tonne)

According to the report there is a huge opportunity to improve the way resources are recycled from e-waste. Existing recycling techniques, like shredding, were said to only recover a few kinds of materials and often diminish their quality.

For this reason the report said that Apple invented its iPhone line of recycling robots, known as Liam, and said to be able to disassemble 1.2 million phones a year, sorting all their high-quality components and reducing the need to mine more resources from the earth.

Liam prototypes are currently operating in California and the Netherlands.

Additionally, Apple said that it is committed to making sure all the waste created by both its own, and its third party final assembly facilities is reused, recycled, composted, or, when necessary, converted into energy.

According to the report, its a goal that requires collaboration among multiple Apple teams, local governments, and specialty recyclers, but which has already seen great success.

In 2015 Apple’s facility in Cork, Ireland was the first outside North America to receive UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill validation.

In 2016 its final assembly sites, Foxconn Guanlan and Foxconn Taiyuan, were reported to be the first to receive this validation in China, and all remaining iPhone and Apple Watch final assembly sites were said to be on track to do the same before 2017.

Further, all Apple stores worldwide were said have initiated zero waste programs.

The report said that on average 70% of the waste generated from manufacturing, cafeterias, and employee support facilities at Apple’s final assembly supplier facilities were already being diverted.

However, the challenge was now said to be addressing the remaining 30% - the small, low- or no-value, mixed waste materials that most recyclers will not accept.

The company said that it has worked closely with suppliers to find innovative ways to reduce, recycle, eliminate, or incinerate this waste for energy recovery.

For example, at many iPhone and Apple Watch final assembly facilities the company said that it has implemented waste sorting on the line to separate previously landfilled recyclable waste. It also said that it has implemented a component tray reuse program for iPhone, allowing single-use trays to flow through the supply chain multiple times.

At other sites, suppliers were said to have established waste reduction campaigns and worked with local recyclers to process materials not previously accepted. As a result of this program, all iPhone and Apple Watch final assembly suppliers now have “zero waste” or “green” teams to support this program and other environmental improvements.

At its corporate offices and retail stores, wherever possible Apple said that it has created robust recycling and composting programs to minimise the environmental impact of its waste we produce.

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