Meet Daisy, the robot that disassembles old and unwanted iPhone units for usable parts

Hey gang, did you know that tomorrow is Earth Day? Well, at least someone at Apple did. The company has launched its Earth Day Apple GiveBack plan that not only will help the environment, it will also help those returning an old or unwanted iPhone. With Apple GiveBack, those returning an eligible device will receive credit in the form of an Apple Store gift card to use for a future purchase. These returned iPhone models can be stripped of usable parts (more on that later). From now through April 30th, Apple will make a donation to Conservation International for every handset it receives through the GiveBack program. This organization works in 30 countries on six continents to "ensure a healthy, prosperous planet."

Apple has also introduced a robot it calls Daisy. She lives in Austin, Texas with a sibling planned for the Netherlands. The robot is made from parts used in Apple's previous robot named Liam. She can disassemble nine different iPhone models at a rate of 200 handsets per hour, helping Apple recycle high quality components and parts that they might have not been able to recover otherwise.

As part of Apple's Earth Day celebration, it is offering Apple Watch users a special badge. To earn it, Apple Watch wearers need to complete any workout for 30-minutes or longer on Earth Day, which as we already noted, is tomorrow.

Lastly, the company released its 2018 Environmental Report which says that Apple has made progress in several areas. Using renewable energy, the company has reduced its carbon footprint from 29.5 million metric tons in 2016 to 27.5 metric tons last year. While Apple has tripled its power consumption since 2011, emissions over the same period have declined by 54%. In addition, the amount of emissions generated during the manufacturing of each product has declined 34% from 2011 to last year.


You can read Apple's 2018 Environmental Responsibility Report by clicking on this link (pdf).


source: Apple