Apple announced a new milestone in its sustainability efforts, committing to using 100% recycled cobalt in all of its batteries by 2025. In addition, the company stated that it intends to use entirely recycled rare earth elements in its magnets, as well as 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating in its circuit boards.
These pledges are part of Apple’s larger goal of making all of its products out of recycled and renewable materials by 2020. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, stated that the company’s environmental work is integral to everything it creates and advances the company’s 2030 goal of making every product carbon neutral.
In recent years, Apple has significantly increased its use of recycled materials in its products. Currently, Apple sources more than two-thirds of all aluminium, nearly three-quarters of all rare earth metals, and more than 95% of all tungsten in its products from 100% recycled material.
A new report details the company’s progress toward using more recycled materials, including the use of recycled cobalt, rare earth elements, gold plating, and tin soldering.
Cobalt is a critical material in the batteries used in most consumer electronics, including Apple devices. Over the last three years, the company’s use of 100% certified recycled cobalt has increased significantly, making it possible to include it in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. In 2022, a quarter of all cobalt found in Apple products would be recycled, up from 13% the previous year.
Apple’s use of 100% certified recycled rare earth elements has also increased significantly in the last year, rising from 45% in 2021 to 73% in 2022. Since first using recycled rare earth in the Taptic Engine of the iPhone 11, Apple has expanded its use of the material across its devices, including all magnets in the most recent iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, and Mac models. Because magnets are by far Apple’s most common use of rare earth, the new 2025 target means that nearly all rare earth in Apple products will soon be 100% recycled.
All Apple-designed printed circuit boards will use 100% certified recycled gold plating by 2025, as part of the accelerated new timeline. This includes rigid boards, such as the main logic board, and flexible boards, such as those connecting the iPhone’s cameras or buttons. Since pioneering an entirely recycled supply chain for gold in the plating of the iPhone 13’s main logic board, Apple has expanded the material’s use in additional components and products, including the wire of all cameras in the iPhone 14 lineup and the printed circuit boards of the iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and HomePod.
Apple is also working to increase the use of recycled gold in non-custom components across the electronics industry.
By 2025, Apple will use 100% certified recycled tin soldering on all printed rigid and flexible circuit boards designed by the company. In recent years, Apple’s use of recycled tin has expanded to the soldering of many flexible printed circuit boards across its products, with recycled tin accounting for 38% of all tin used last year. The company is collaborating with more suppliers to expand the use of recycled tin in even more components.
Innovation has also accelerated progress toward another of Apple’s 2025 commitments: the elimination of plastics from the company’s packaging. The development of fibre alternatives for packaging components such as screen films, wraps, and foam cushioning has kept Apple on track toward this lofty goal.