There are several ways that Apple will take iPhones back, through warranty return, trade in program and recycle/reuse program [18]. But what happens to the iPhone after that.
Apple promotes a Recycle Program. The provide an incentive, such as a gift card, if you send your old device to them for recycle. The iPhone is disassembled and the key components that can be reused and removes them, glass, metal, plastic, etc [3].
Note: The red pins are the locations that take the iPhones and the black pins are the ones that take them apart and recycle the parts that are recyclable.
Apple is making efforts to use fewer and greener materials in the making of their products. They are also trying to promote refurbishing and recycling devices. This isn’t just for the good of the earth but to set the environmentally minded customers to ease and allow them to buy more products. This is a bonus because people like to save money and Apple gives discounts off of the returned items in order to get them to recycle. They sell the refurbished items to those who work cheaply. In the recycling aspect, paper, cardboard and plastic do not recycle infinitely, they eventually become unrecyclable. Metal, specifically copper can be recycled indefinitely. But extracting copper from iProducts is difficult and usually results in a loss. There is little incentive to recycle the glass because the primary ingredient is sand and sand has no value. Plus, the iPhone screen isn’t normal glass but a combination of rare earth elements, including indium. Indium is worth $200 a pound but there is no means to extracting it. Adding upgrades and breaking down individual components is difficult to do with iProducts because of the tightly packed components [16].
Today’s electronics are designed for the dumps. After two years you have to buy a new one to keep up with technology. More than 130 million cell phones in the U.S. alone are retired every year. Most wireless providers, like Apple, take back phones. Workable ones are refurbished and resold either on the consumer market or to charity. Most are sold to Latin America and Africa. Verizon offers a HopeLine where phones are taken and redistributed with 3000 free minutes to those who are victims of domestic violence. Non-workable phones are broken down and sold for parts or to a smelter where the phone gets melted down and the liquids are reconstituted. In a metric ton of phones, there are 308 pounds of copper, 7 pounds of silver and .5 pounds of gold. Phones contain substances that are harmful to people and the environment like cadmium, lead, beryllium and arsenic. In Guiyu, China, 1.5 million pounds of cell phone waste are dismantled by workers without gloves and the extras are burned in open flames. Today, cell phones are made more environmentally friendly with less cadmium and lead which makes it lighter. Also, 20% of owners recycle their phones now [20].
I critically investigated the environmental report on the iPhone 6. Apple environmentally manages its products through the quantity and types of materials used, energy efficiency, and recyclability. The report Apple put out on the iPhone 6 relates climate change, energy and material efficiency, and restricted substances. In relation to climate change, most of Apple’s greenhouse gases come from production (85%), use (11%), transportation (3%) and recycling (1%). In relation to energy efficiency, the Apple charger overdoes the requirements set by ENERGY STAR. In relation to material efficiency, the product and packaging design reduces the material footprint. Also maximizing shipping and reducing energy consumption. The materials used for iPhone 6 include the battery, aluminum, stainless steel, glass, circuit boards, display, plastic and other components. The packaging is highly recyclable and made from bio-based materials. It is material efficient and allows 50% more units to be transported by airline shipping containers. Apple eliminates restricted substances such as arsenic, mercury, BRF, PVC and beryllium. Through the design and recyclable materials, Apple has minimized waste. In order to do so they offer their recycling program in 95% of the regions Apple products are sold [14].