Recycling iPhones to Make ... iPhones
WIRED’s cover story this month is titled "Have A Nice Future.”
It profiles a small group of people who are competing to do good with technology, before more bad happens.
There is the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, calling out hidden bias in tech tools.
The head of the Threat Lab at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, protecting ordinary citizens from hackers and spies.
A group of teenaged plaintiffs in Juliana vs United States, taking on government complacency on climate science.
All of them serve as illustrious examples.
One profile that stuck with me was that of Lisa Jackson, Obama’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency who is now the VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple.
When Jackson joined Apple, her impact was felt immediately. Within a year of joining, she completed a project to run all of the company's facilities on 100% renewable energy.
Operating on green energy makes both an environmental and social impact, but stamping out products from recycled materials would make a much greater one. And that is where Jackson's focus is now.
Apple already has a recycling supply chain in motion, which includes robots that can strip down 200 old iPhones an hour for metals that can be reused in new ones.
The metals part of the story is interesting because it requires Apple getting directly into materials sciences.
The image above illustrates a few of the ways they are doing this (number key below):
1. RARE EARTHS. The Taptic Engine, the component for producing haptic feedback in iPhone 11 models uses 100% recycled rare-earth metals.
2. COBALT. A disassembly robot called Daisy extracts cobalt from recycled iPhones. The company is now producing batteries with the reclaimed material.
3. TIN. At least 15 Apple products use 100% recycled tin solder for their logic boards and in some power adapters.
4. ALUMINUM. In 2018, Apple developed a process for smelting recycled aluminum that produces a much higher quality finish. The company is also investing in greener smelters to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions.
Currently this is in production for only a few iPhone models. Jackson’s moon shot is to make ALL products with/from recyclable materials, and one can start to see the strategy demonstrated in the recyclable, recycled iPhone supply chain.
As a rational optimist, I think if Apple moves this direction others will follow. They provide the credible signal that the rest of the market needs, and is waiting for.
More here …
https://www.wired.com/story/wired25-stories-people-racing-to-save-us/
