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I believe the batteries are the big problem. With respect to the glue, ifixit reports: Electronics recyclers need to take out hazardous components such as bat

by dunham 14y ago

I believe the batteries are the big problem. With respect to the glue, ifixit reports: Electronics recyclers need to take out hazardous components such as batteries before sending computers through their shredders, because batteries can catch fire when punctured. When we originally tore down the Retina MacBook Pro, we could not separate the battery from the upper case. The next day, after a lot of elbow grease, we were finally able to get them apart—but in the process punctured the battery, leaking hazardous goo all over. They are fairly practiced at taking things apart, including delicate and glued-together equipment, so I'd conclude that it is a fairly strong and difficult to work with glue. see: http://ifixit.org/2884/apple-ditches-green-standard-cuts-off-federal-agencies-from-apple-products/ http://ifixit.org/2884/apple-ditches-green-standard-cuts-off... Also see their teardown for a description of their initial, failed attempt to detach the batteries: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Retina-Display-Mid-2012-Teardown/9462/3#s36209 http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Retina-Di...

Someone 14y ago
iFixit evaluates for repairability, not for recyclability. For example, on http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-with-Retina-Display-Teardown/9462/1#s36209 http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-with-Retina-Displ... they state " To complicate matters further, the TrackPad cable lies underneath the battery. Attempting to pry the battery off the upper case could easily sever the fragile cable, which would be bad." That is of no concern when recycling the device. So, is there a problem recycling these new devices? I would guess so, but I do not rule out that there is a simple process to separate these parts, e.g. by heating them to a certain temperature, putting them in a microwave just long enough, or by taking apart the battery before removing it from the glass. A dedicated recycler could use some specialist procedure for recycling these things. I do doubt that that would be economically feasible, though. The amount of glass involved is just too small. Also, chances are that that will lead to lower degree of recycling, just as white glass can be recycled better than green or brown glass, and as car windshields, being layered with some plastic, can be recycled, but likely not into new car windshields.
- ars 14y ago
  > by heating them to a certain temperature, putting them in a microwave just long enough Are you kidding? You want to do that to a Lithium ion battery?
  - Someone 14y ago
    Why not, as long as that 'certain temperature' is well below the temperature at which the battery spontaneously ignites? Also, for recycling, one could deplete the battery before trying to separate its container from the other parts. I still think these things will get recycled into low-quality stuff such as concrete filler, but as I said, I do not rule out that there is a relatively easy way to separate the parts that iFixit does not know about.
    - ars 14y ago
      That would work fine in a lab, but is way too expensive for recycling. Those ovens with accurate temperature control and very expensive, and pretty small. And manually hooking up each battery to a discharging station is far too complicated to do in bulk. You don't need to recycle anything at all as "concrete filler" sand works just fine.
      - Someone 14y ago
        Yes, sand works fine, but there are at least two reasons to use other stuff: - to give the concrete a different look - to get rid of junk aka recycle stuff that does not have other uses. Some links: http://www.concreteideas.com/recycled-glass-in-concrete http://www.concreteideas.com/recycled-glass-in-concrete, http://www.jnphillips.com/greenshield.asp http://www.jnphillips.com/greenshield.asp

by dunham 14y ago

Someone 14y ago

iFixit evaluates for repairability, not for recyclability. For example, on http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-with-Retina-Display-Teardown/9462/1#s36209 http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-with-Retina-Displ... they state " To complicate matters further, the TrackPad cable lies underneath the battery. Attempting to pry the battery off the upper case could easily sever the fragile cable, which would be bad." That is of no concern when recycling the device. So, is there a problem recycling these new devices? I would guess so, but I do not rule out that there is a simple process to separate these parts, e.g. by heating them to a certain temperature, putting them in a microwave just long enough, or by taking apart the battery before removing it from the glass. A dedicated recycler could use some specialist procedure for recycling these things. I do doubt that that would be economically feasible, though. The amount of glass involved is just too small. Also, chances are that that will lead to lower degree of recycling, just as white glass can be recycled better than green or brown glass, and as car windshields, being layered with some plastic, can be recycled, but likely not into new car windshields.

ars 14y ago
> by heating them to a certain temperature, putting them in a microwave just long enough Are you kidding? You want to do that to a Lithium ion battery?
- Someone 14y ago
  Why not, as long as that 'certain temperature' is well below the temperature at which the battery spontaneously ignites? Also, for recycling, one could deplete the battery before trying to separate its container from the other parts. I still think these things will get recycled into low-quality stuff such as concrete filler, but as I said, I do not rule out that there is a relatively easy way to separate the parts that iFixit does not know about.
  - ars 14y ago
    That would work fine in a lab, but is way too expensive for recycling. Those ovens with accurate temperature control and very expensive, and pretty small. And manually hooking up each battery to a discharging station is far too complicated to do in bulk. You don't need to recycle anything at all as "concrete filler" sand works just fine.
    - Someone 14y ago
      Yes, sand works fine, but there are at least two reasons to use other stuff: - to give the concrete a different look - to get rid of junk aka recycle stuff that does not have other uses. Some links: http://www.concreteideas.com/recycled-glass-in-concrete http://www.concreteideas.com/recycled-glass-in-concrete, http://www.jnphillips.com/greenshield.asp http://www.jnphillips.com/greenshield.asp