Apple recently pledged that it will work faster in adding recycled materials to new products.
The ‘major acceleration’ involves the promise that Apple will use 100% recycled cobalt on all batteries, 100% recycled earth elements for its magnets, and 100% recycled gold plating and tin soldering for printed circuit boards by the year 2025. The shorter timeframe was mostly due to several moves done by the company in recent years.
Apple began using recycled gold plating for its printed circuit boards for the iPhone 13, and expanded that to the iPad, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, HomePod, AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch lineup. In 2022, Apple increased its recycled cobalt components to 25% and plans to up the numbers to 100% by 2025.
The Cupertino-based company mentioned that its Texas Material Recovery Lab recently started using AR video to help with disassembly. Plastics will be removed on all its products and replaced with fiber alternatives by 2025.
