Apple Will Use 100% Recycled Cobalt in Its Batteries Beginning in 2025
Apple has recently announced its plans to expand its use of recycled materials across its products, including a new target to use 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. The company also aims to use entirely recycled rare earth elements for magnets in Apple devices and 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating for all Apple-designed printed circuit boards.
In the past year, the company has significantly increased its use of recycled metals, with over two-thirds of all aluminum, nearly three-quarters of all rare earths, and more than 95% of all tungsten in Apple products being sourced from 100% recycled material. The company’s goal is to one day make all of its products with only recycled and renewable materials and to make every product carbon neutral by 2030.
According to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, “Every day, Apple is innovating to make technology that enriches people’s lives, while protecting the planet we all share. From the recycled materials in our products, to the clean energy that powers our operations, our environmental work is integral to everything we make and to who we are. So we’ll keep pressing forward in the belief that great technology should be great for our users, and for the environment.”
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said, “Our ambition to one day use 100% recycled and renewable materials in our products works hand in hand with Apple 2030: our goal to achieve carbon neutral products by 2030. We’re working toward both goals with urgency and advancing innovation across our entire industry in the process.”
The company’s use of 100% certified recycled rare earth elements has greatly expanded in the last year, going from 45% in 2021 to 73% in 2022. Since introducing recycled rare earths in the Taptic Engine of iPhone 11, Apple has expanded its use of the material across its devices, including in all magnets found in the latest iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, and Mac models.
Apple’s new 2025 target means that nearly all rare earths in its products will soon be 100% recycled, as magnets are the company’s largest use of rare earths. By 2025, the company will also use 100% certified recycled tin soldering on all Apple-designed printed rigid and flexible circuit boards. The application of recycled tin across even more components is underway, and the company is engaging more suppliers in this effort.
Innovation has also driven progress toward another of Apple’s 2025 commitments: to eliminate plastics from the company’s packaging. The development of fiber alternatives for packaging components like screen films, wraps, and foam cushioning has kept Apple on track toward this ambitious goal. To address the remaining 4% plastic in the company’s packaging footprint, Apple is innovating to replace labels, lamination, and other small uses.
In the past year, Apple developed a custom printer to introduce digital printing directly onto the boxes of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, eliminating the need for most labels. A new overprint varnish found in iPad Air, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8 packaging replaces the polypropylene plastic lamination found on boxes and packaging components, which helped avoid over 1,100 metric tons of plastic and over 2,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
In conclusion, Apple’s commitment to using 100% recycled materials is a step forward in the tech industry’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. The company’s ambitious targets and progress towards a more sustainable future demonstrate that it is possible to create innovative products while protecting the planet.
