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Apple accelerates eco progress with highest-ever recycled materials
- niek_pas 6mo agoDoes anyone know of a trustworthy third party that scrutinizes Apple's claims? I'm accusing Apple of lying, but I'd like to get more context than "100 percent recycled cobalt". That sounds great, but what about all the other metals? What does 'recycled' mean here, exactly? And so on.
- saagarjha 6mo agoNot sure if it's trustworthy, but they ran into trouble advertising this in Europe: https://9to5mac.com/2023/10/24/carbon-neutral-apple-watch-claims/ https://9to5mac.com/2023/10/24/carbon-neutral-apple-watch-cl...
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- latexr 6mo agoCheck their annual report. https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Progress_Report_2026.pdf https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Pr... To see previous ones, simply change the year in the URL. You can get to that from apple.com/environment or apple.com/2030 (which redirects to the former). Near the end, right before and in the appendix you can find third-party independent reviews and assessments. Now, are those trustworthy? I don’t know. But it gives you the context to start looking. The broader document will also probably help answer the other specific questions.
- evilduck 6mo agoThey include their auditor's reports in their document, around page 100: https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Progress_Report_2026.pdf https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Pr... Do you also distrust those?
- latexr 6mo ago> Do you also distrust those? I suspect the OP made a mistake and forgot the word “not” in “I'm accusing Apple of lying, but I'd like to get more context than” (otherwise the “but” makes little sense). I expect they are asking in good faith if there are audits, not accusing the auditors of being corrupt.
- bombcar 6mo agoIt really comes down to whether we trust Apple to do the work; auditors can be found that will certify anything you need even if not at the fraud levels of Arthur Anderson. And this kind of thing can be hard to independently verify. Given Apple’s track record I suspect they actually do care about this internally and spend the effort to make sure it is “real”.
- evilduck 6mo agoI don't expect absolute perfection from Apple but I think they are putting in good faith effort towards these improvements and are just proud of their accomplishments. If it was strictly a feel-good PR effort then that would have the complete opposite effect if their environmental claims were found to be fabricated, and it would just take one whistleblower anywhere in their own staff, their auditing teams, or anywhere in their global supply chain to bring down that whole facade.
- bombcar 6mo agoI agree, it seems to be something Tim Apple personally cares about and he'd not likely to want the smoke blown. Apple has independently clamped down on suppliers without being forced to, iirc.
- neya 6mo agoCan we stop posting Apple's PR pieces here? Everyone knows they score the lowest on repairability so this really means shit.
- latexr 6mo ago> Everyone knows they score the lowest on repairability Tell that to iFixit. https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/smartphone-repairability-scores https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/smartphone-repairabilit... I’d trust their assessment more than a vague “everyone knows”. There’s nothing “everyone knows”. Should Apple be better at repairability? Absolutely! But let’s criticise accurately and in good faith. When we don’t, points are easily dismissed and no one takes the valid parts seriously.
- ezst 6mo agoNot op but that's missing the forest for the tree. Those devices are not meant to be e-waste conscious at all, which is the undertone here: you can't replace the battery yourself, you can't expand storage when you need, you can't safely expand their life when they are outside of Apple support period because they are soft and hardware black boxes. Instead, you just buy anew. True, Apple is no more no less guilty of this than the competition, but they are also not shifting the needle while pretending to do so, with so many untaped opportunities.
- latexr 6mo ago> you can't replace the battery yourself Not true at all. I have a close friend (not an electronics or programming nerd in any way) which has replaced the battery (and a screen) on multiple iPhones with nothing more than iFixit instructions. > you can't safely expand their life Again, not true. See above. > with so many untaped opportunities. Which is obvious I agree with, since I said they absolutely should be better at repairability. But consider the dismissive tone of the original comment, which is justified with false information. To give you an exaggerated example, let’s say someone is telling you about all the awful practices Nestlé engages in. All of them are true, but then they end with “and their CEO is literally Hitler, who survived and changed his face due to an agreement with the Beelzebub, and is going to control humanity through chocolate”. At that point most people would dismiss them as a nut job and ignore the other true valid points as fabrications too. Which is why we should criticise, yes, but based on truth, not lies and rage bait.
- zelphirkalt 6mo agoI don't have the numbers of other manufacturers, but 30% doesn't sound like outrageously much to me. That still is an overwhelming majority of non-recycled materials. An improvement is good, but 30% is nothing worth writing home about.
- robertjpayne 6mo agoThe shipped nearly 250 million phones last year plus millions of other products. Having 30% recycled materials across a production line of that scale is massively impressive if you ask me.
- zelphirkalt 6mo agoWhy is the number of phones of relevance? If anything, wouldn't a higher number of shipped phones just mean, that recycling becomes more worth it? Other than that, I don't see how that number plays a role. It is what is inside each of those phones, that matters, I think.
- tasoeur 6mo agoI really appreciate their effort to go towards more recycling, but to me a lot of this is completely moot as long as they don’t provide a stronger incentive to surrender your old devices for recycling. It’s actually really simple to reach $0 trade-in value due to absolutely silly things like a scratched display. Why would I be giving you back my iPhone for free when even glass bottles are $0.5 when recommissioned…
- Someone 6mo agoIt’s not like recycling through other means is hard, is it? I expect most of that 30% recycled material is from other sources than traded in devices.
- bombcar 6mo agoSince they offer the EDU discount they might as well offer a blanket “it boots get $100 off” deal for returned machines. Though the cost of responsibly recycle and dispose of an old computer might make the $0 offer actually a decent one.
- jonhohle 6mo agoIf they’re recycling it, what does it matter if it boots? The aluminum is worth nothing? I’m sure there’s bits of gold and other things.
- bombcar 6mo agoIt could be a low bar for "you can't bring in a destroyed remains of a Mac Classic and get the discount" - but actually, allowing that would be a net good for the world, and wouldn't cost more than the (easily gamed) EDU discount anyway.
- roryirvine 6mo agoThey already do that in the UK https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/trade-in https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/trade-in Google do similar, as do most electronics retailers. Is that not not a thing in the US? Perhaps it ought to be.
- vrganj 6mo agoThis sounds like classic greenwashing PR.
- markstos 6mo agoFrom the company that popularized completely unrepairable earbuds with non-replaceable batteries.
- robertjpayne 6mo agoWhat other company has ever sold wireless earbuds with a replaceable battery?
- markstos 6mo agoAlso, at a moment when "AI" appears in practically all tech marketing, in this environmental impact report they manage to not mention at all the impact of their ChatGPT integration or their plans for an upgraded Siri.
- alexandrehtrb 6mo agoHow about stop making planned obsolence products? How about not charging outrageous prices when their computers need repair?
- bzzzt 6mo agoThere's nothing wrong with planning for a certain device lifespan, provided it's long enough. But there's a bell curve here: it doesn't make sense to plan for 20 years of support if 99% of the devices are broken or replaced by their users by then. Also, Apple repair prices are high, but not outrageous. There will always be someone claiming they can do it for less, but not many that will give the same guarantees Apple does.
- stouset 6mo agoApple products last longer, retain their value longer, and are supported longer than their peers virtually across the board. AppleCare is extremely cheap and comprehensive. I have had one Apple product fail in at least fifteen years and it was replaced without hesitation. It’s been nearly a decade since I’ve had an iPhone screen crack from dropping, and that used to be a regular occurrence. And if I do, again, it’s covered under AppleCare. There are many harsh criticisms to be leveled against the company. This is not one of them.
- sksksk 6mo agoIn my experience, Apple phones are pretty good at not being obsolete. I gave my old iPhone X to my father who's still using it, 9 years later, with software updates to iOS. Compare that to the Google Pixel 2 (which came out in the same year), got it's last software update 3 years later.
- dangus 6mo agoFramework is the industry benchmark. To me, anyone doing anything less than full modularity doesn’t actually care about e-waste. Framework has proven that it is possible to make a great machine that is modular as well as forward and backward compatible, and they’ve done it with a comparatively tiny group of employees. Same deal with Fairphone. Apple can brag about sustainability the day they ship a phone, wireless earbuds, or smartwatch with a battery that the user can replace with a basic screwdriver or less. If tiny companies like Fairphone and Framework can manage to put out products like this, imagine what a company with the kind of resources Apple has could do with the same concept.
- shuntress 6mo agoPhone screens dont need to be user-swappable but apple should be forced to sell each module (screen, frame, camera board, main board, etc).
- dangus 6mo agoJust the battery would be a great start. For a laptop, nearly everything should be modular.
- Schiendelman 6mo agoPlease be careful not to argue to "force" a company to do something they already do... https://support.apple.com/self-service-repair https://support.apple.com/self-service-repair
- dangus 6mo agoAwesome that you can finally buy some parts (Apple was years late in this compared to competitors). Have you seen how insane the rental tool kit is? https://selfservicerepair.com/en-US/tool-kit-rental https://selfservicerepair.com/en-US/tool-kit-rental Here’s a video showing how the battery replacement process works: https://youtu.be/3P1kEy--d9E https://youtu.be/3P1kEy--d9E Heres the part list for the iPhone 17 Pro tool kit: Case 1 661-17619 - Heated Display Removal Fixture 661-52832 - Heated Display Pocket Case 2 923-02657 - Battery Press 661-08916 - Display Press 923-01092 - Adhesive Cutter 922-5065 - Nylon Probe (Black Stick) 923-0248 - Black Torque Driver Kit 923-00738 - Gray Torque Driver 923-00105 - Green Torque Driver 923-0448 - Blue Torque Driver 923-01290 - Micro Stix® Bit 923-02066 - Super screw Bit 923-02995 - Adjustable torque driver (10-34 Ncm) 923-09176 - Adhesive Removal Tool 923-09177 - JCIS Bit for Adjustable Torque Driver 923-09962 - Superscrew Bit for Adjustable Torque Driver 923-08085 - Teal Torque Driver 923-08131 - Orange Torque Driver 923-07594 - Torx Plus 4IP 25mm bit 923-09721 - Housing Protective Cover 923-10961 - Display Protective Cover 923-12855 - Repair Tray 923-13313 - Back Protective Cover Magnetizer ESD-safe tweezers Case 3 923-13470 - Logic Board Dock 923-12856 - Logic Board Dock Insert (mmWave) 923-13465 - Logic Board Dock Insert (non-mmWave) This is not “self service,” this is service that requires professional level tools and skills masquerading as self-service to satisfy regulators. I think that Apple wants it to be this complicated so they can tell regulators “See? We complied but it’s totally insane, we told you users can’t possibly repair their own equipment!” Apple also has a long history of making repair difficult for third party repair companies. Meanwhile, the battery replacement process for the Fairphone only requires one tool: https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/24590029621138-The-Fairphone-Gen-6-Replace-a-Spare-Part https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/245900296211...
- mrcwinn 6mo agoAh, good morning HN. Eager to read all the negativity about something that's on its face positive. XD Good job Apple. Now more to do.
- draw_down 6mo ago[dead]
- zero_k 6mo agoIf they want "eco progress" they should make their devices repairable. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. *In that priority* Reduce & Reuse by making it repairable! See: https://www.epa.gov/recycle https://www.epa.gov/recycle
- bilbo0s 6mo agoWell Reduce is really more "Why do you need this (device/pair of shoes/car/shirt/whatever) in the first place?" But the Reuse part is definitely served, at least in part, through repair.
- benoau 6mo agoThe equivalent reduction would be device consolidation, with the folding iPhone having the greatest capacity since it could replace an iPad and with cheap peripherals be at least as good a computer as a MacBook Neo. Of course, being Apple, it's reportedly only able to run iPhone apps heh.
- GuB-42 6mo agoRecycling is mostly greenwashing. I mean, it is good, but the order is Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle. Recycling is the last option, when everything else has failed and the thing is heading for the landfill (or worse). Every device they take for "recycling" is a failure of the first 3 "R"s, especially if it is still working or it is just a dead battery, but is good for their business, so no wonder they insist on recycling. I really like their work on packaging though. Not just because it reduces the plastic waste produced by Apple, it is not much in the grand scheme of things, but it also sets an example. Apple has always been a trendsetter when it comes to design, and their packaging is given a lot of attention.
- orwin 6mo agoI know this is mostly marketing, but I appreciate the discourse and effort they seems to put into this. Companies are a poor choice for governance/directions to avoid a tragedy of the common anyway, the answers should come from a governmental body, so any unforced effort put on recycling by companies are good.
- jamesnights 6mo agothis I absolutely want to see them embrace repairability and such, but kudos to them for the work they're doing and the progress they've made. They make it look good, that's good. I'd hate to see them stop. It's not like they're a non-profit. If anything, I want more companies to do what they're doing (and better, duh), but most companies won't because they have no incentive (Apple can do it because $$$). If I want to hold them to a higher standard, I'll vote for someone who will hold everyone to a higher standard by encouraging those kinds of decisions (read "$$$"). I'm fine with my tax dollars going toward indirectly helping me, including my Apple tax dollars.
- Schiendelman 6mo agoBased on what we've seen in the last couple of years, they're doing very well on repairability!