Apple wins a patent for Next-Gen Magic Keyboard Features including an Apple Pencil Retainer and Recharger and more
Apple won 67 Patents today covering Advanced Eye-Tracking Systems, HomePod mini and more

Apple Reveals they've expanded the use of Recycled Materials across its products while introducing 'Taz' a new Shredder-like Technology

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Daisy can disassemble up to 1.2 million phones each year, helping Apple recover more valuable materials for recycling. The company has offered to license the patents related to Daisy for researchers and other electronics manufacturers developing their own disassembly processes.

 

This morning Apple released new details on the increased use of recycled content across its products. For the first time, the company introduced certified recycled gold, and more than doubled the use of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements, and cobalt. Nearly 20 percent of all material used in Apple products in 2021 was recycled, the highest-ever use of recycled content.

 

Apple released new details on this progress, its recycling innovation efforts, and clean energy in its 2022 Environmental Progress Report.

 

The company also shared new ways customers can celebrate Earth Day, including supporting World Wildlife Fund by using Apple Pay. With educational resources, curated content, and engaging activities across platforms, Apple customers can take opportunities to appreciate the beauty of nature from wherever they are, learn about key issues like climate change, and support causes and communities working to protect the planet.

 

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives: "As people around the world join in celebrating Earth Day, we are making real progress in our work to address the climate crisis and to one day make our products without taking anything from the earth. Our rapid pace of innovation is already helping our teams use today’s products to build tomorrow’s, and as our global supply chain transitions to clean power, we are charting a path for other companies to follow."

 

More Recycled and Responsibly Sourced Materials Across Apple Products

 

Apple has pioneered innovations in the recycling and sourcing of materials to spur industrywide change. To help its recycling partners build on this momentum worldwide, Apple today announced its newest recycling innovation, Taz, a machine that uses a groundbreaking approach to improve material recovery from traditional electronics recycling.

 

In 2021, 59 percent of all the aluminum Apple shipped in its products came from recycled sources, with many products featuring 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure. Apple has also made significant progress toward the company’s goal to eliminate plastics from its packaging by 2025, with plastics accounting for just 4 percent of packaging in 2021. Since 2015, Apple has reduced plastic in its packaging by 75 percent.

 

Additionally, Apple products in 2021 included:

 

  • 45 percent certified recycled rare earth elements, a significant increase since Apple introduced recycled rare earth elements in its devices.
  • 30 percent certified recycled tin, with all new iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and Mac devices featuring 100 percent recycled tin in the solder of their main logic boards.
  • 13 percent certified recycled cobalt, used in iPhone batteries that can be disassembled by Apple’s recycling robot Daisy and returned to market.
  • Certified recycled gold, featured — for the first time in any Apple product — in the plating of the main logic board and wire in the front camera and the rear cameras of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. To achieve this milestone, Apple pioneered industry-leading levels of traceability to build a gold supply chain of exclusively recycled content.

 

Recovering more materials for use in future products helps reduce mining. From just one metric ton of iPhone components taken apart by Apple’s recycling robots, recyclers can recover the amount of gold and copper companies would typically extract from 2,000 metric tons of mined rock. Apple is also committed to extending the lifetime of its products through refurbishment. In 2021, Apple sent 12.2 million devices and accessories to new owners for reuse, extending their lifetime and reducing the need for future mining. Ultimately, Apple aims to use only renewable or recyclable materials in its products — a goal announced in 2017 that has charted the company’s pathway on design and material sourcing.

 

Apple introduces 'Taz' a new Shredder-like Technology while Expanding the Capabilities of Daisy

 

Taz, a machine that uses new shredder-like technology to separate magnets from audio modules and recover more rare earth elements, is the latest in a series of recycling advancements spearheaded by Apple.

 

(Click on image to Greatly Enlarge)

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At the Material Recovery Lab in Austin, Texas, engineers and experts use a pilot-scale industrial electronics shredder for research and development. Apple’s newest recycling machine, Taz, was developed out of this process, designed to help conventional bulk electronics recyclers recover more precious materials.

 

The company has also further expanded the capabilities of its patented iPhone disassembly robot Daisy to take apart 23 models of iPhone, and has offered to license those patents to other companies and researchers free of charge. An additional robot, Dave, disassembles Taptic Engines, helping to recover valuable rare earth magnets, tungsten, and steel.

 

Apple's full press release includes a section titled "Explore, Learn, and Take Action for Earth Day" wherein you could learn how Apple customers could participate on Earth Day which is officially on Friday April 22.

 

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