Last year, Apple achieved the goal of removing all plastic from the packaging of its products – now every Apple gadget you buy comes in 100% fiber-based packaging that you can recycle at home.
The gadgets themselves contain a lot of recycled materials. The company used 30% recycled content in all products it shipped last year. And in three specific areas, recycled content is 100%:
- All batteries designed by Apple use 100% recycled cobalt
- All magnets use 100% recycled rare earth elements
- All Apple-designed printed circuit boards use 100% recycled gold plating and tin solder
All materials used in Apple manufacturing – recycled or otherwise – are responsibly sourced, as Cupertino demands strong human rights and environmental protections from its supply chain.
MacBook Neo uses the most recycled content of any Apple product
The individual products are also improving, with the new MacBook Neo standing out as one of the top eco-friendly products – it contains a total of 60% recycled content. This is the most recycled content ever found in an Apple product.
Apple’s designers and engineers deserve a lot of credit for this — the enclosure for the $600 laptop is made using a material-efficient manufacturing process, which cuts raw material use in half. Anodizing aluminum uses less water overall because 70% of the water is reused.
Apple reports that it has reduced plastic use by over 15,000 metric tons over the past 5 years thanks to its new all-fiber packaging. Additionally, its offices and stores around the world use 100% renewable energy and its supply chain uses more than 20 gigawatts of renewable energy. Similarly, water use has been reduced at Apple facilities (55% of water is replenished) and its suppliers (which cut water use by 17 billion gallons).
apple green milestones
Apple has ambitious goals for 2030 – it wants to make its operations completely carbon neutral and repurpose all the water used by its facilities.
Being green is good for the wallet, too – to celebrate Earth Day, participating Apple Stores will offer 10% off AirPods and accessories to consumers who recycle select Apple products. This offer is valid till 16th May.
You can read more about Apple’s current achievements and future green initiatives here.