Apple to use Daisy robot for recycling minerals used in iPhone

For reducing the dependence on the mining industry for recycling, Apple Inc. will reportedly use a new technology called Daisy robot that will disassemble iPhone parts to recover and reuse the minerals used in making products. Apple says the robot is part of the plan to make the manufacturing process closed-loop which would stop the company from relying on the mining industry.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s head of environment, policy and social, however, clarifies that the company has no competition with the miners and the latter should not fear in this development. 

Inside a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, Daisy robot breaks apart iPhones so that 14 minerals, including lithium, can be extracted and recycled. Less than 20 yards in length,  the robot follows four-step process to remove battery with a blast of -80 degree Celsius air and then pop out screws and modules, which are then sent off to recyclers for the extraction of minerals. Daisy can tear apart 200 iPhones per hour.  

Apple has been using recycled metals and minerals in some of its products. Last month, it bought the first commercial batch of carbon-free aluminium from a joint venture of Rio Tinto and Alcoa. The carbon-free aluminium was produced at the Alcoa Technical Center in Pittsburgh.

Apple is also considering sharing the Daisy technology with other technology developers, including electric automakers.