Nearly 80% of all e-waste generated around the globe is not properly treated, he said. ![]() “This is not understandable for the consumer in comparison to all the other waste streams.” “You can make money out of it, but you have to really do a lot of steps,” Kuehr says. Most of it ends up where it shouldn’t - in our closets and junk drawers - which means more materials such as copper, gold and platinum have to be mined to produce new products. “But we nevertheless think it’s a very important step in order to make people … aware of the issue we are facing.”Į-waste is a growing problem that has yet to enter the mainstream consciousness. “When we look to the pure numbers, it’s close to nothing,” Kuehr said. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images/FILEĪpple could be about to make the biggest change to the iPhone in 11 years Lightning cable and Apple logo on iPhone are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on September 25, 2021. There are about 66 million tons of electronic waste generated each year, says Ruediger Kuehr, head of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research in Bonn, Germany. Charging cables, he said account for “a few hundred thousand tons.” You can also look for a local e-waste recycling center or Best Buy store for environmentally friendly options.)īig-picture, though, the impact on the mountains of global e-waste will likely be minimal. Apple says it has a “robust” recycling program where you can bring in used chargers and cables. Retiring the Lightning cable could even generate, in the short term, a surge of e-waste as iPhone users toss their useless Lightning cables in a drawer. (Still, the company ultimately said it would comply with the common cable rules.) ![]() But it also said the waste argument was misguided, and that the promise of wireless charging would make the cable issue moot. Second, having a common charger across devices - whether they’re made by Apple or Samsung or Garmin or whoever - would “significantly reduce electronic waste.”Īpple initially pushed back, of course, partly because selling extra Lightning cables made it lots of money. ![]() When the European Commission passed the directive last year, it cited two motivations: First, everyone agrees that it’s super annoying to have so many cables lying around. Apple revealed its lineup of the latest iPhone 15 versions as well as other product upgrades during the event. An attendee looks at the brand new Apple iPhone 15 during an Apple event on Septemin Cupertino, California.
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