Apple recovered 2,204 pounds of gold from recycled electronic devices last year...worth a cool $40million

  • Apple also recovered 6,612 pounds of silver, 2,953,360 pounds of copper, and 23,101,000 pounds of steel
  • The company said it recovered 61,357,800 pounds 'of material recovered for reuse through take-back initiatives in 2015'

Apple has revealed it recovered 2,204 pounds of gold in 2015 via take-back initiatives.

The gold's worth has been pegged at a cool $40millon by CNN Money.

The technology giant said in its annual environmental responsibility report: 'In 2015, we collected nearly 90 million pounds of e-waste through our recycling programs.'

Apple also revealed that it recovered 61,357,800 pounds 'of material recovered for reuse through take-back initiatives in 2015.'

Apple has revealed it recovered 2,204 pounds of gold in 2015 via take-back initiatives

Apple has revealed it recovered 2,204 pounds of gold in 2015 via take-back initiatives

The gold's worth has been pegged at a cool $40millon (stock image shown)

The gold's worth has been pegged at a cool $40millon (stock image shown)

It said: 'We work hard to keep electronic devices out of landfills so that the precious resources they contain can be reused.

'And we want to ensure that these devices are recycled properly so they don’t pose a threat to human health or the environment.

'That's why we've developed recycling collection events, take-back initiatives, and efforts like Apple Renew, a global program that lets you bring used Apple devices to any Apple Store for reuse or responsible recycling.'

Apple didn't just recover gold -- through take-back initiatives, it also recovered 6,612 pounds of silver, 2,953,360 pounds of copper, and 23,101,000 pounds of steel.

Apple said: 'It said: 'We work hard to keep electronic devices out of landfills so that the precious resources they contain can be reused'

Apple said: 'It said: 'We work hard to keep electronic devices out of landfills so that the precious resources they contain can be reused'

Apple said in its report: 'We also see a huge opportunity to improve the way we reclaim finite resources from our products.

'Existing recycling techniques, like shredding, only recover a few kinds of materials and often diminish their quality.

'So we invented Liam, a line of robots designed to disassemble 1.2 million phones a year, sorting all their high-quality components and reducing the need to mine more resources from the earth.

'Liam prototypes are operating in California and the Netherlands.

'It's an experiment in recycling technology, and we hope this kind of thinking will inspire others in our industry.'

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.