Apple on Thursday announced its highest-ever use of recycled materials, with 30 percent of the total material in products shipped in 2025 coming from recycled sources. The company also revealed several major milestones in its environmental efforts, including 100 percent recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in all Apple-designed printed circuit boards. In addition, Apple achieved its long-standing goal of removing plastic from packaging, completing the transition to 100 percent fiber-based packaging. Over the past five years, these efforts have helped avoid more than 15,000 metric tons of plastic — equivalent to about 500 million plastic water bottles. “At Apple, we believe deeply in leaving the world better than we found it, and that commitment runs across everything we do,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “These milestones in our work to protect the planet show that ambitious goals can also be powerful engines of innovation. And as always, we’ll keep pushing to build on this progress even more.” Apple also introduced the new MacBook Neo, which features 60 percent recycled content overall — the highest of any Apple device to date. The MacBook Neo incorporates 100 percent recycled cobalt in its battery and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in its magnets. It also employs a material-efficient forming process that uses half the raw material compared to traditional machining methods, along with an enhanced anodization process that achieves a 70 percent water-reuse rate. The company launched two new advanced recycling technologies: Cora, a world-class electronics-recycling line at its Advanced Recovery Center in California that uses precision shredding and advanced sensor technology for higher material recovery rates, and A.R.I.S., a machine learning-powered detection system that classifies and sorts electronic scrap. A.R.I.S. runs on Mac mini and is being piloted with partner recyclers. Apple’s broader environmental progress in 2025 includes: • Carbon dioxide emissions remaining down more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels, holding steady from 2024 despite significant business growth. • Replenishing more than half of its corporate water use, including 100 percent of water use in California through a partnership with The Nature Conservancy. • Procuring 20 gigawatts of renewable energy by direct suppliers and 1.8 gigawatts for its own offices, retail stores, and data centers. • Achieving a 75 percent waste diversion rate across global facilities, with more than 600,000 metric tons of waste redirected from landfills by Apple and its suppliers. • All final assembly sites operating at zero-waste-to-landfill, and 400 supplier facilities now participating in Apple’s Zero Waste Program. Apple Fifth Avenue in New York became the first retail store to achieve TRUE Zero Waste Certification. To encourage recycling, Apple is offering customers who recycle eligible products at Apple Stores from April 16 to May 16, 2026, a 10 percent discount on AirPods or accessories. The company continues to work toward its Apple 2030 goal of “carbon neutrality” across its entire footprint and aims to replenish 100 percent of the fresh water it withdraws worldwide by 2030. It also plans to match 100 percent of customer energy use for charging and powering Apple products with clean electricity. Sabih Khan, Apple’s chief operating officer, said: “Across every part of our business, we’re showing how innovation and collaboration can turn big ideas and bold ambitions into measurable progress. From expanding recycled material to removing plastic from our packaging, we’re setting new benchmarks that inspire us to reach further and work even harder for the good of people and planet.” MacDailyNews Note: Find out more in Apple’s annual Environmental Progress Report, which highlights ongoing innovation in materials, recycling, renewable energy, water stewardship, and zero waste initiatives. Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon. The post Apple hits record 30% recycled material across all products in 2025 appeared first on MacDailyNews. You're currently a free subscriber to MacDailyNews. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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