Apple fails to appear before UK environmental committee, drawing criticism
U.K. lawmakers are criticizing Apple's sustainability efforts after the company failed to appear before an environmental committee to answer questions about e-waste.

Credit: Apple
Reportedly, Apple CEO Tim Cook failed to respond by a Sept. 4 deadline from the House of Common's Environmental Audit Committee. The committee initially invited Apple to put forth representatives for a hearing in July, but it canceled on short notice.
Environmental Audit Committee Chairman Philip Dunne said in a statement to Bloomberg that Apple's "unwillingness to answer [the] committee's questions has led us to believe its environmental obligations are not taken seriously enough."
That's despite the fact that the Cupertino tech giant "appears to have a positive story to tell regarding its efforts on climate change," Dunne added.
The committee is specifically seeking answers regarding the steps Apple is taking to minimize it e-waste footprint -- particularly since Apple has sold more than two billion iPhones. Dunne the difficulty and cost of repairing electronic devices has created a "throwaway society."
In its 2020 Environmental Progress Report, Apple said that its device recycling programs have directed 47,000 metric tons of e-waste away from landfills in 2019. It also touted its efforts in materials, disassembly, and recycling in general.

Credit: Apple
Reportedly, Apple CEO Tim Cook failed to respond by a Sept. 4 deadline from the House of Common's Environmental Audit Committee. The committee initially invited Apple to put forth representatives for a hearing in July, but it canceled on short notice.
Environmental Audit Committee Chairman Philip Dunne said in a statement to Bloomberg that Apple's "unwillingness to answer [the] committee's questions has led us to believe its environmental obligations are not taken seriously enough."
That's despite the fact that the Cupertino tech giant "appears to have a positive story to tell regarding its efforts on climate change," Dunne added.
The committee is specifically seeking answers regarding the steps Apple is taking to minimize it e-waste footprint -- particularly since Apple has sold more than two billion iPhones. Dunne the difficulty and cost of repairing electronic devices has created a "throwaway society."
In its 2020 Environmental Progress Report, Apple said that its device recycling programs have directed 47,000 metric tons of e-waste away from landfills in 2019. It also touted its efforts in materials, disassembly, and recycling in general.
Comments
I wouldn’t want to share anything with such kind of people.
And failure to respond by September 4 doesn't much sound like failure to appear.
Just about every electronics company in the world has worse policies regarding e-waste than Apple - they recycle their old stuff and attempt to manufacture most of their products using old product's recycled materials as much as possible - so how does this place Apple and Apple alone on the hot seat?
For some reason probably related to stock prices and revenues, this has become the official year of the Apple attack.
Anyone with a gripe, jealous motive, or data hounds trying to track when you took your last dump are whispering in some government official's ear somewhere getting officials to attack Apple using their offices and forced governmental legal compliance powers. The fact that these whisperers have shady pasts and compliance issues of their own are masked by these official inquiries, and the inability of Apple to face their real accusers and expose them for the hypocrites that they are.
How about all the single use plastics in healthcare? I’m sure sterilization is possible for the large majority of the RAW materials...
And every appliance maker who’s now producing appliances that only last 3 to 5 years...
And the general lack of recycling ANYTHING in the USA. Incinerators are not “renewable energy”!!!
The problem is SYSTEMIC across EVERY industry. Apple isn’t innocent but they’re also not remotely the only target to take aim at.
The PBS special:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/plastics-industry-insiders-reveal-the-truth-about-recycling/
...we were duped. We need to produce and consume less single-use plastics, use more recyclable & degradable paper products.
For consideration: http://www.solarscorecard.com/2018-19/
It isn’t about finding out anything. They have underlings for that.
This article has insufficient detail and raises more questions than it answers.