Apple is heading fast towards becoming the greenest tech companies around, as the iPad and iPhone makers announced their latest plans in the environmental section of their company website. With the aim to reduce the amount of electronic waste that is sent to landfills, all Apple stores will be giving away store vouchers in return for used electronic gadgets.
All old phones and tablets will then be recycled, preventing huge amounts of dangerous toxins from being released in the environment.
It is fair to admit that Apple’s efforts toward protecting the environment are admirable. The company even managed to convince the toughest members of the crowd, the guys from Greenpeace, in this. Apple grabbed the gold medal in the category “the most innovative and most aggressive in pursuing its commitment to be 100 percent renewably powered” listed a report of the environmentalists released earlier this month.
Apple have sold more than a billion of their gadgets over the past seven years, hence taking care of their old and already unusable and unsupported electronics is the most responsible action they could have taken. In addition to this, because all of their data centers, including the one that is currently under construction in Cupertino, are (or will be) powered by renewables, all iPhone and iPad users, who connect to internet and do data transfers, do not contribute to carbon emissions and atmospheric pollution. And this gets better. The energy that powers 94% of all company’s offices and 120 of Apples U.S. stores, also comes from renewable sources.
As many as 420 company stores around the world are already prepared to take all old gadgets and already have a stash of vouchers. Of course, these will be given only if the used electronic device has a resell value, but it does not mean that unusable old gadgets will not be taken for recycling when brought to the stores.
The initiative is great, and no wonder the announcement coincided with the celebration of the Earth Day this year. If all tech companies do their fair share to protect the environment as much as possible, we could soon observe the greatest reduction in emissions.
Image (c) Apple
