Oliver Haslam on April 19, 2019, 8:51 pm

Apple Expands Its Recycling Program To Include Best Buy, KPN Stores

Apple has always been a big proponent of recycling and it has announced that it is expanding its existing US iPhone recycling program by bringing Best Buy stores on board. The program will also be available via KPN stores in the Netherlands, with all phones returned to Apple for recycling via the infamous Daisy robots.

Apple is currently keen to promote its recycling chops and is sharing the information on its web page, with the first portion of the homepage dedicated to the trade-in promotion, touting its impact on the environment.

In fact, Apple says that “products should leave their mark on the world, not the planet,” and then links out to its own environment page that has also been updated with a 2019 Environmental Responsibility Report. The company has also announced the latest rounds of numbers for refurbished and recycled devices, with some pretty mind-boggling statistics.

Apple has received nearly 1 million devices through Apple programs and each Daisy can disassemble 1.2 million devices per year. In 2018, the company refurbished more than 7.8 million Apple devices and helped divert more than 48,000 metric tons of electronic waste from landfills […]

Daisy is now able to disassemble 15 different iPhone models at the rate of 200 per hour, recovering even more important materials for re-use. Once materials have been recovered from Daisy, they are recycled back into the manufacturing process.

For cobalt, which is a key battery material, Apple sends iPhone batteries recovered by Daisy upstream in its supply chain. They are then combined with scrap from select manufacturing sites and, for the first time, cobalt recovered through this process is now being used to make brand-new Apple batteries — a true closed loop for this precious material.

Apple also uses 100 percent recycled tin in a key component of the main logic boards of 11 different products. The company’s engineering of an aluminum alloy made from 100 percent recycled aluminum allows the new MacBook Air and Mac mini to have nearly half the carbon footprint of earlier models. Starting this year, aluminum recovered through the Apple Trade In program is being remelted into the enclosures for the MacBook Air.

Of Course, all of this is part of Apple’s Earth Day celebrations, which will happen on April 22nd. The company makes a big fuss every year, and even has its stores turn green including the clothes team members wear.

The company will be celebrating Earth Day on April 22 with environmentally themed Today at Apple sessions at all Apple Stores, and will be featuring original stories and collections of apps and games on the App Store to help people honor the Earth and consider their role in the natural ecosystem. Apple’s Earth Day Challenge also encourages Apple Watch wearers to complete any outdoor workout of 30 minutes or more to earn a special Earth Day Award and stickers for Messages.