5 ms·

Considering that Apple will send you prepaid shipping label to recycle your devices, I don't expect they would just toss them in the landfill.

Wowfunhappy 8y ago
So what, plausibly, do you think they might be doing? I generally operate under the belief that companies avoid outright lying, particularly major ones like Apple. But, they may be stretching the truth, such as by salvaging a neglible amount of material and then chucking the rest. I'm not seeing a clear process on how they could do more than that. Also, even if Apple is able to extract and reuse the metals or some such, the complete inability to swap out the batteries without destroying the device, combined with reports that battery capacity reaches unusable levels within a couple years, is of great concern.
- 52-6F-62 8y ago
  As the other user mentioned, hopefully something similar to this(!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYshVbcEmUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYshVbcEmUc
- pohl 8y ago
  Daisy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bu-gl7v-P8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bu-gl7v-P8
- mikestew 8y ago
  So what, plausibly, do you think they might be doing? It's LifeHacker, consider the source: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-recycle-your-airpods-1833579320 https://lifehacker.com/how-to-recycle-your-airpods-183357932... "In a phone conversation, an Apple spokesperson confirmed that these AirPods are then distributed to recyclers who specialize in electronic waste along with instructions on how to break apart the components."
  - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
    > are then distributed to recyclers who specialize in electronic waste So, nothing like Daisy. I sadly don't find this encouraging.
  - snaky 8y ago
    Then they appear at Aliexpress with fresh batteries for half the price.
    - xeromal 8y ago
      That's fantastic. Reuse is the best form of recycling.
    - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
      From the teardown, it doesn't seem possible to replace an airpod's battery without destroying it.
      - snaky 8y ago
        Never underestimate Chinese low-fi engineering genius.
Daniel_sk 8y ago
Probably only in US.
gumby 8y ago
Why? Nescafe happily takes back used coffee pods and then tosses them. It's good PR -- good enough that my GF dumps them in the recycling "because they are recyclable: Nescafe takes them".
- Wowfunhappy 8y ago
  > My GF dumps [Nescafe coffee pods] in the recycling "because they are recyclable: Nescafe takes them". With all possible respect, this is terrible logic. Apple recycles iPhones, but that doesn't mean you can throw iPhones in your household recycling. Putting non-recyclables into the recycling can contaminate and ruin the entire load. As a general rule, if you're not sure whether something can be recycled, you should err on the side of not recycling it. https://www.vox.com/videos/2019/3/12/18252188/recycling-wrong-contamination-trash https://www.vox.com/videos/2019/3/12/18252188/recycling-wron...
  - gumby 8y ago
    I agree with your points, but there is no way to win these arguments :-(.
    - acct1771 8y ago
      There's one.

Wowfunhappy 8y ago

So what, plausibly, do you think they might be doing? I generally operate under the belief that companies avoid outright lying, particularly major ones like Apple. But, they may be stretching the truth, such as by salvaging a neglible amount of material and then chucking the rest. I'm not seeing a clear process on how they could do more than that. Also, even if Apple is able to extract and reuse the metals or some such, the complete inability to swap out the batteries without destroying the device, combined with reports that battery capacity reaches unusable levels within a couple years, is of great concern.

52-6F-62 8y ago
As the other user mentioned, hopefully something similar to this(!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYshVbcEmUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYshVbcEmUc
pohl 8y ago
Daisy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bu-gl7v-P8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bu-gl7v-P8
mikestew 8y ago
So what, plausibly, do you think they might be doing? It's LifeHacker, consider the source: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-recycle-your-airpods-1833579320 https://lifehacker.com/how-to-recycle-your-airpods-183357932... "In a phone conversation, an Apple spokesperson confirmed that these AirPods are then distributed to recyclers who specialize in electronic waste along with instructions on how to break apart the components."
- Wowfunhappy 8y ago
  > are then distributed to recyclers who specialize in electronic waste So, nothing like Daisy. I sadly don't find this encouraging.
- snaky 8y ago
  Then they appear at Aliexpress with fresh batteries for half the price.
  - xeromal 8y ago
    That's fantastic. Reuse is the best form of recycling.
  - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
    From the teardown, it doesn't seem possible to replace an airpod's battery without destroying it.
    - snaky 8y ago
      Never underestimate Chinese low-fi engineering genius.

Daniel_sk 8y ago

Probably only in US.

gumby 8y ago

Why? Nescafe happily takes back used coffee pods and then tosses them. It's good PR -- good enough that my GF dumps them in the recycling "because they are recyclable: Nescafe takes them".

Wowfunhappy 8y ago
> My GF dumps [Nescafe coffee pods] in the recycling "because they are recyclable: Nescafe takes them". With all possible respect, this is terrible logic. Apple recycles iPhones, but that doesn't mean you can throw iPhones in your household recycling. Putting non-recyclables into the recycling can contaminate and ruin the entire load. As a general rule, if you're not sure whether something can be recycled, you should err on the side of not recycling it. https://www.vox.com/videos/2019/3/12/18252188/recycling-wrong-contamination-trash https://www.vox.com/videos/2019/3/12/18252188/recycling-wron...
- gumby 8y ago
  I agree with your points, but there is no way to win these arguments :-(.
  - acct1771 8y ago
    There's one.