Apple pledges to use 100% recycled cobalt in its batteries by 2025, as part of its commitment to sustainability and ahead of Earth Day. The tech giant aims to also use completely recycled rare earth elements in its magnets by that time, and to have all in-house circuit board designs using fully recycled gold plating and tin soldering.
Last year, Apple used only 25% recycled cobalt, which is up from 13% in 2021. Apple already uses 73% recycled rare earth elements and 38% recycled tin. Apple’s custom battery designs are featured in most of its portable products, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook lines.
Apple intends to make all products exclusively with recycled and renewable materials and for its products to be carbon neutral by 2030. As of 2022, only 20% of the material in Apple hardware was recycled or renewed.
While the move helps Apple improve its sustainability credentials, the cobalt goal could have more significant consequences as cobalt is widely used in batteries, including in electric vehicles, but the mining process can contaminate the air, earth, and water, and lead to health issues for both miners and the general population. The move could help reduce demand for additional cobalt and the associated mining.
