Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 19-04-2019

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

Technology company Apple has announced a major expansion of its recycling programmes, quadrupling the number of locations US customers can send their iPhone to be disassembled by Daisy, its recycling robot.

Daisy will disassemble and recycle select used iPhones returned to Best Buy stores throughout the US and KPN retailers in the Netherlands.

Customers can also turn in their eligible devices to be recycled at any Apple Store or through apple.com as part of the Apple Trade In programme.

Apple has received nearly 1 million devices through Apple programmes and each Daisy can disassemble 1.2 million devices per year.

In 2018, the company refurbished more than 7.8 million Apple devices and helped divert more than 48,000 metric tons of electronic waste from landfills.

Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson says advanced recycling must become an important part of the electronics supply chain.

“We work hard to design products that our customers can rely on for a long time. When it comes time to recycle them, we hope that the convenience and benefit of our programmes will encourage everyone to bring in their old devices.”

Meanwhile to further its research on recycling, Apple also announced the opening of its Material Recovery Lab dedicated to discovering future recycling processes.

The new 9,000-square-foot facility in Austin, Texas, will look for innovative solutions involving robotics and machine learning to improve on traditional methods like targeted disassembly, sorting and shredding.

The company will be celebrating Earth Day on April 22 with environmentally themed Today at Apple sessions at all Apple Stores, and will be featuring original stories and collections of apps and games on the App Store to help people honour the Earth and consider their role in the natural ecosystem.

Apple’s Earth Day Challenge also encourages Apple Watch wearers to complete any outdoor workout of 30 minutes or more to earn a special Earth Day Award and stickers for Messages.

In order to see the Activity challenge, users must have iOS 12.1.3 and watchOS 5.1.3, or later.