Apple expands recycled materials used across products by 20%

Apple has revealed it has increased the use of recycled materials across its products, with nearly 20% of all materials used in Apple products in 2021 having been recycled.

The company introduced certified recycled gold for the first time, and more than doubled the use of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements, and cobalt.

Additionally, Apple has also introduced its newest recycling innovation, Taz, which is a machine that reportedly improves material recovery from traditional electronics recycling.

Taz uses shredder-like technology to separate magnets from audio modules and recover more rare earth elements.

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 licence those patents to other companies and researchers free of charge.

In 2021, 59% of all the aluminium Apple shipped in its products came from recycled sources, with many products featuring 100% recycled aluminium in the enclosure.

Apple has also made progress toward the company’s goal to eliminate plastics from its packaging by 2025, with plastics accounting for just 4% of packaging in 2021. Since 2015, Apple has reduced plastic in its packaging by 75%.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said: “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.”