00:00Apple is on a mission to make tech recycling easier and more accessible than ever.
00:05And with Earth Day here, there's no better time to talk about what you can do with all those old
00:10devices gathering dust in your drawers.
00:12Joining us now is Lauren Braun, Senior Manager for Environment Product Marketing at Apple to talk all about it.
00:18Thank you so much for being here, Lauren.
00:21Happy to be here on Earth Day.
00:23Yeah, it's so exciting to have you, even though we should obviously all be thinking about protecting the planet every
00:28day.
00:29Today is Earth Day.
00:30So let's start by getting an overview of Apple's message to consumers who have old phones, tablets, electronics, just sitting
00:36there unused, no longer needed, in drawers, on countertops.
00:41What should they do with them?
00:43You know, it's such a universal problem, right?
00:45The drawer full of cables and devices, maybe a fully functional iPhone at the bottom.
00:51There's really three good things to do with your old devices.
00:55First is pass them down.
00:57Second is trade them in.
00:58And the third is to recycle them.
01:00The best thing for the planet is to keep using devices that still work.
01:05So that's why passing them down to a friend or a family member gives them a chance at a second
01:09or a third life.
01:11Trading them in at an Apple store online does the same thing in extending their life.
01:16You bring in a device and you're able to capture any residual value while some new user goes on to
01:21use and enjoy it.
01:23So that value goes on to an Apple gift card that you can use whenever you want.
01:27And pro tip, we will also take most Android smartphones for trade-in as well.
01:33Now, if your device is truly at the end of its life, you can bring it into an Apple store
01:37and we'll recycle it for free.
01:39So we'll take smartphones, laptops, headphones, even if they're not from Apple, plus all those accessories, cases, and cables in
01:47that drawer.
01:48That's so interesting and honestly so helpful for all of us, myself included, who do have those cable drawers.
01:54That's incredible that you'll take devices that aren't even Apple to be recycled.
01:58When it comes to devices that can be traded in, I know sometimes people get a little bit worried.
02:03What about my data that's on there?
02:05All my pictures on there?
02:06How does Apple ensure that when those devices kind of find a new life that they're safe for the person
02:11who brought it in?
02:13That's true.
02:14It is a common worry that people have of trading in devices with personal information on it.
02:19But the truth is it's really easy and quite simple to get your device ready for trade-in or recycling.
02:25So if you go to Apple.com, we'll step you through all the instructions, how to transfer data back up
02:31to iCloud,
02:31turn off the activation lock, and securely wipe that information so your device is completely safe to trade in.
02:39That's so important for people to keep in mind because I know some people do get worried about it.
02:43So it's nice to know that there's a way that they'll be protected as well as they try to protect
02:46the environment.
02:47Now, Apple achieved a record 30% recycled content across its products last year.
02:52How did you get there and what does that milestone mean for the company's broader sustainability mission?
02:58That's right, and it is the result of many, many years of hard work across all of our products.
03:04A really great example here is a MacBook Neo.
03:07So MacBook Neo is made with 60% recycled content, and that's the most of any device we have ever
03:13made at the company.
03:14We do that by finding every opportunity to use recycled content, like in this aluminum case, like in the battery,
03:22there is recycled cobalt, and even rare earth elements in the magnets.
03:26Yeah, it's incredible to think about how you're able to take pieces of devices and make them into something new.
03:33So tell us a little bit more about what actually happens to a device after it's turned in, after it's
03:37wiped.
03:38Take us behind the scenes of that recycling process.
03:41Sure thing.
03:42So after that screening, that device will get sent to a facility for disassembly,
03:47and then the pieces of it will be separated out or recovered so that they can be reprocessed and reused.
03:54Now, we've really focused on being very efficient with that recovery so we can get more of those critical materials.
04:02And to do that, we...
04:05So my favorite is Daisy, and Daisy can disassemble three dozen types of iPhones and do 200 an hour.
04:13Now, the amount of gold and copper in a single iPhone is very, very small, but it's really important to
04:20recover because it helps us avoid a huge amount of mining.
04:23The gold and copper that's in 2,000 tons of mined rock, we can get out of just one ton
04:30of iPhone components.
04:32That's incredible to think about.
04:34I mean, it's amazing to think about all of the technology and all the innovation that's gone into doing this
04:39to make sure that we can be not filling up our landfills, not polluting the planet.
04:44What is the biggest challenge with all of this?
04:46And what is the biggest challenge when you're trying to take these components out and reuse them and make something
04:51new with them?
04:55One of the biggest challenges is honestly just getting those devices to us, right?
05:00It's really the pipeline.
05:02There's so many devices sitting in a drawer, and that's why we work hard to let people know that these
05:07services are actually available.
05:09And we also try to meet customers where they are.
05:12So, of course, you can bring it to an Apple store.
05:14But if you don't live around an Apple store, you can go to apple.com slash recycling, and we will
05:20send you a prepaid box that you can ship your device back to us for recycling.
05:26That's amazing as well because, again, so many people don't live somewhere where it's convenient for them to go drop
05:31it off.
05:31So it's great to have that for consumers.
05:33Now, for people who are holding on to those devices, maybe out of habit, uncertainty, laziness, whatever the case may
05:39be, what are the environmental consequences of electronics just sitting there unused or ending up in the trash and then
05:45in landfills?
05:48We certainly don't want them to end up in landfills.
05:50But those devices are really environmentally valuable, even if they have no value left to you as the user.
05:57And that's because they're made of critical materials like aluminum, copper, gold.
06:03And when we take those materials out, they can be reused into entirely new things.
06:09A great example is the aluminum that's in an iPad or a MacBook.
06:13That can be recovered and reprocessed into something like a window frame or even a car part.
06:19Wow, that's amazing to think about all of these things that these pieces of just a regular phone could end
06:25up being.
06:25How do you work with partners to make all of that happen, since there's so many products that are not
06:30tech-related that these pieces could go towards?
06:33Do you have partnerships with other companies, or how does that work?
06:37So we really focus on creating the best recycling routes possible for Apple devices.
06:43But we'll also take non-Apple devices into our stores, even if they're not made by us.
06:51Yeah, that's amazing.
06:52And when you get those devices in, I would imagine, as you said, there's so many pieces of those components
06:56that you can reuse and make into other devices and use in other ways.
07:01For the ones that you can't, because I'm sure there are some that you can't actually put into a new
07:05device,
07:06you were mentioning that those can go to other companies or into other kind of products to be integrated.
07:12What kind of partnerships do you have, or how important is that?
07:16So it's really, really important, because that's what allows recycled content to even exist for other companies and industries to
07:24use.
07:25So when we capture those materials, we can actually turn them into the recycled content that allows you to make
07:31something like a window frame or a car part with recycled aluminum.
07:37Amazing. And what are Apple's key sustainability goals for 2026 and beyond?
07:42How does the Recycling Material Recovery Program fit into the larger roadmap for Apple?
07:48Yeah, so our main goal is Apple 2030.
07:52And that's our goal to be carbon neutral across our entire business by the end of the decade.
07:57And using recycled materials and products like MacBook Neo here, which has 60% recycled content, the most of any
08:05device,
08:05is super important because recycled materials often have lower carbon footprints than virgin materials.
08:13Yeah, it's amazing to think about where all of this could go.
08:16And in, honestly, just a few years, it seems like something that would be so difficult to do,
08:20so almost a sci-fi movie or something to be able to be repurposing all of these parts.
08:25But incredible to think about the opportunity there.
08:28Lastly, as we celebrate Earth Day, what is your one top tip for customers who want to make a real
08:33environmental impact
08:34through the way they handle their old electronics?
08:37Just open the drawer.
08:39Just open the drawer and take out the devices and then bring them in,
08:43and we'll help you figure out where they should go that's best.
08:47Well, thank you so much, Lauren Braun, Senior Manager for Environment Product Marketing at Apple.
08:52We really appreciate you joining us here on Earth Day to talk all about this.
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