Apple expands recycled materials used across products by 20%
Apple has unveiled a series of environmental initiatives, including expanding the use of recycled materials in its products.
In addition to starting to use recycled gold for the first time, Apple has more than doubled the use of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements and cobalt, the company said. In 2021, recycled materials accounted for nearly 20% of the materials in Apple products, which is the highest it has ever been. Last year, 59% of the aluminum in shipped Apple products came from recycled sources, with some products containing 100% recycled material within the enclosure.
The company aims to end the use of plastics in packaging by 2025. It has reduced the amount of plastics in packaging by 75% since 2015 so that in 2021 the amount of plastics in packaging was down to 4%.
The company also released its 2022 Environmental Progress Report, which details its progress toward becoming completely carbon neutral by 2030 and reducing waste. Apple’s operations have been carbon neutral since 2020. Since 2018, its offices, stores and data centers have run on 100% renewable energy.
“As people around the world join in celebrating Earth Day, we are making real progress in our work to address the climate crisis and to one day make our products without taking anything from the earth,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives said in a statement released on Tuesday. “Our rapid pace of innovation is already helping our teams use today’s products to build tomorrow’s, and as our global supply chain transitions to clean power, we are charting a path for other companies to follow.”
