Apple offers free recycling of all used products

iPhone 4S

As part of Earth Day celebration, Apple is offering free recycling of all its used products.

The company has pledged to power all of its stores, offices and data centers with renewable energy to reduce the environmental impact caused by its devices and services.

Greenpeace in its reports estimated that technology products and services accounted for about 2 percent of worldwide emissions in 2012, roughly the same as the airline industry.

As part of the sustainability efforts, Apple had already been distributing gift cards at some of its 420 worldwide stores in exchange for iPhones and iPods still in good enough condition to be resold. Now, all of the company’s stores will recycle any Apple product at no charge.

iPhone 4S

The company will recycle electronics that are not supposed to be dumped in landfills.

In 2012, Apple had faced severe criticism from Greenpeace over their failure to meet environmental sustainability goals.  However, Apple has been ranked excellent in Greenpeace’s latest Clean Energy Index with a perfect 100 percent.

Apple was ranked no.1 on the “scorecard” of Internet company data centers that Greenpeace issues every two years.

Apple also scored A grade in efforts in transparency, renewable energy policy and renewable energy deployment as against the mix of D and F grades in Greenpeace’s 2012 report.

About 94 percent of the power in Apple’s offices in the world is now supplied by renewable energy sources, up from 35 percent in 2010.

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