UK blames Apple and Amazon for 'tsunami' of electronic waste
The UK government's Environmental Audit Committee says Apple makes it "nearly impossible" to repair devices such as the iPhone, and not "playing their part" in recycling.
Credit: Apple
Following a nine-month consultation, the UK's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has concluded that companies such as Apple should be required to be more responsible about electronic waste. Apple, which declined to contribute to the research, is accused of deliberately making its products so expensive to repair that consumers buy new devices instead.
"Tech companies such as Apple have been found to glue and solder together internal components making any repair nearly impossible," says the report summary. "The EAC found that consumers do not have control over the products they own; they cannot take components out to repair themselves and they cannot access manuals on how issues can be fixed."
"Instead the charges proposed for repair by Apple in particular can be so expensive it is more economical to replace the item completely," it continues.
The full report takes into account problems in all forms of electronic devices, ranging from "sealed drums in washing machines," to how Apple and others use "unique 'pentablobe screws' to prevent wide access for repair."
The Environmental Audit Committee notes that the UK creates the "second highest" amount of electronic waste in the world. It also says that the country may be illegally exporting around 40% of its e-waste to overseas.
"A lot of it goes to landfill, incineration or is dumped overseas," it says. "Under current laws producers and retailers of electronics are responsible for this waste, yet they are clearly not fulfilling that responsibility."
The EAC wants what it calls a "true right to repair." It says this starts with how products should be designed to be repairable, plus spare parts must be available -- and so must official repair manuals.
Although Apple did not accept an invitation from the EAC to contribute during the research, The Guardian newspaper says the company has responded to the results.
"We were surprised and disappointed with the Environmental Audit Committee's report, which does not reflect any of Apple's efforts to conserve resources and protect the planet we all share," said an Apple spokesperson in a statement to The Guardian.
"There are more options for customers to trade in, recycle and get safe, quality repairs than ever before," the spokesperson continued, "and our latest Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone lineup all use recycled material across key components."
"We will continue to work with parliament and the government to document Apple's industry-leading commitments and to support our common effort to leave a clean economy and a healthy planet for the next generation," concluded Apple.
Amazon also responded by saying that it is "committed to minimizing waste" through its Amazon Second Chance website.
Credit: Apple
Following a nine-month consultation, the UK's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has concluded that companies such as Apple should be required to be more responsible about electronic waste. Apple, which declined to contribute to the research, is accused of deliberately making its products so expensive to repair that consumers buy new devices instead.
"Tech companies such as Apple have been found to glue and solder together internal components making any repair nearly impossible," says the report summary. "The EAC found that consumers do not have control over the products they own; they cannot take components out to repair themselves and they cannot access manuals on how issues can be fixed."
"Instead the charges proposed for repair by Apple in particular can be so expensive it is more economical to replace the item completely," it continues.
The full report takes into account problems in all forms of electronic devices, ranging from "sealed drums in washing machines," to how Apple and others use "unique 'pentablobe screws' to prevent wide access for repair."
The Environmental Audit Committee notes that the UK creates the "second highest" amount of electronic waste in the world. It also says that the country may be illegally exporting around 40% of its e-waste to overseas.
"A lot of it goes to landfill, incineration or is dumped overseas," it says. "Under current laws producers and retailers of electronics are responsible for this waste, yet they are clearly not fulfilling that responsibility."
The EAC wants what it calls a "true right to repair." It says this starts with how products should be designed to be repairable, plus spare parts must be available -- and so must official repair manuals.
Although Apple did not accept an invitation from the EAC to contribute during the research, The Guardian newspaper says the company has responded to the results.
"We were surprised and disappointed with the Environmental Audit Committee's report, which does not reflect any of Apple's efforts to conserve resources and protect the planet we all share," said an Apple spokesperson in a statement to The Guardian.
"There are more options for customers to trade in, recycle and get safe, quality repairs than ever before," the spokesperson continued, "and our latest Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone lineup all use recycled material across key components."
"We will continue to work with parliament and the government to document Apple's industry-leading commitments and to support our common effort to leave a clean economy and a healthy planet for the next generation," concluded Apple.
Amazon also responded by saying that it is "committed to minimizing waste" through its Amazon Second Chance website.
Comments
I would agree Amazon allows lots of cheap Chinese electronics that do not last to be sold, but if consumers were not always looking for the cheapest things to buy there would not so much electric trash. Apple stuff last way longer. My iMac is 8 yrs old and still going strong, all my Macs last 8 plus years. I'm still using my first gen watch, and just upgraded my iPhone 6 to a iPhone 11, not because the phone did not work, just time to have new features. In this case I was no better than most who have to update just to have the latest and greatest.
Even if people could fix the phone most will not the buy new because they want something new.
Telling consumers they are the problem does not go wells and causes politicians to loose their job so it's easier to blame companies.
Reduce, reuse, recycle, in that order.
Yeah, that IS Apple's commitment to the environment!
I hate trolls...
Personally, I’d love for the M-series Macs to have many more user-upgradable options, but I also love that the integration leads to a faster, more secure, and (historically speaking) less likely to break device.
People in the repair industry even complain about the seals and tight fit that keep dust and moisture out as this both complicated and increases repair costs. I’ve never tested it, but I can’t imagine that my use of a 3rd-party seal when replacing a display will be as good as keeping water out of the device as the factory installation.
Repent I say!
“Research undertaken by Professor Tim Cooper has found that a product’s lifetime should, in most cases, be extended for as long as possible since roughly speaking, doubling a lifespan will halve the product’s environmental impact.189 190 Green Alliance has put some figures on specific electronic products that show how lengthening a lifespan can save carbon, energy and water consumption.191 According to a European Environmental Bureau (EEB) study (2019), extending the lifetime of all washing machines, smartphones, laptops and vacuum cleaners in the EU by one year would lead to annual savings of around four million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, which is equivalent to taking over two million cars off the roads for a year.”
“Contributors to our inquiry have argued that making repair of electrical and electronic products easier is vital to reaching a circular economy and is intrinsically linked to making more durable products. For example, the Restart Project has estimated that over 1,000 community repair events logged in its online system have saved an estimated 17,864kg of electronic waste and an estimated 280,894kg CO2 emissions.”
It could be argued, and I so argue, that these two attributes have become mutually exclusive. Apple has made its products last far longer than average, but in doing so it made "repairing" them more difficult. Was ANY attempt to weigh the net environmental benefit vs environmental cost made? Also, while I admittedly didn't do an exhaustive study of this study, where is it quantitatively shown that Apple products and their approach are creating a more than an average contribution to the "tsunami"? (Crickets)