Here Are the Secrets Behind Apple’s Recycling Program

What happens when it’s time to get rid of that old device? The trashcan is certainly not an option and sometimes having a garage sale is too much work. Thankfully Apple has a simple solution. The company has its own “Reuse and Recycle” trade-in program. 9to5Mac reveals new information on Apple’s program. It’s a heavily involved process that requires contractors to follow 50 regulations and requirements.

“…little information has been previously known about what exactly happens once an iOS device has been boxed up by the Apple employee. When going through the in-store recycling program, users are told the device’s memory is erased and that the devices will then be recycled.” Barbosa continues to say that the old device will either be sold in the secondary market or be recycled depending on the device’s condition.

Tim Culpan from Bloomberg Buisness explains the process. “The process starts at hundreds of Apple stores globally, or online, where the company offers gift certificates to lure iPhone owners to sell back their devices. After a quick test, the recycler will either buy the phone or offer to scrap it for free. In the U.S., payouts for working phones range from $100 for the smallest-capacity iPhone 4, to $350 for the largest iPhone 6 Plus. More stringent testing then shows whether the handset can be resold or must be scrapped.” Culpan continues, “Once Apple’s partners decide a phone must be scrapped, a deconstruction process begins that is remarkably similar to Apple’s production model, only in reverse.”

Li Tong, an Apple contractor based in Hong Kong, is quoted saying, “Reclaimed iPhones can’t be shipped across regions, must have their storage wiped, and must have all logos removed. The scrap can’t be mixed with that of other brand names, so recyclers need to have dedicated facilities for Apple.”

Barbosa reports that Tong advises her customers how to repurpose discarded technology into something new. “Apple shreds it devices to avoid having fake Apple products appearing on the secondary market,” according to Lisa Jackson, the head of Environmental Affairs for Apple. “In the electronics recycling business, the benchmark is to try to collect and recycle 70 percent, by weight, of the devices produced seven years earlier. Jackson says Apple exceeds that, typically reaching 85 percent…” quoted from Barbosa’s article.

One fact may be obvious, there’s more money to be made by re-selling used iPhones and Mac computers rather than recycling them. From just looking at the diagram, it sounds like a simple process. Old devices are examined and tested to see if they still function. Devices that work fine are made available for sale. Anything deemed non-functional or not okay for re-sale is scrapped. So, that’s what happens to your old device, pretty cool huh?

Learn More: 6 Ways to Repurpose and Reuse Your Old iPhone or iPad