14 DAY TRIAL // In addition to the recycling program we told you about earlier, a separate recycling program is available for Apple UK customers. According to a notice on Apple’s web site, you can get free and environmentally friendly disposal of your iPod and mobile phone with no purchase necessary.
Per the terms of the program, customers can bring their existing iPod or mobile phone to an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Premium Reseller for free recycling.
The company will not only dispose of it properly, it will also give you a 10 per cent discount on the purchase of a new iPod. And if you have an old iPhone that has monetary value, you might also get some cash for it.
There’s a form to fill with the number of iPods and phones you want to take back, and you must provide several details about yourself, including a name and address, so Apple can reach you if necessary.
You must also agree to the terms and conditions of the program.
“When you recycle with Apple, your used equipment is disassembled, and key components that can be reused are removed,” Apple says. “Glass and metal can be reprocessed for use in new products. A majority of the plastics can be pelletised into a raw secondary material. With materials reprocessing and component reuse, Apple often achieves a 90 per cent recovery rate by weight of the original product.”
The company says it meets the requirements of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, and that all e-waste is processed in the region in which it was collected by Apple voluntary programs worldwide.
“Our recyclers must comply with all health and safety laws, and we do not allow the use of prison labour. Apple recyclers do not dispose of hazardous electronic waste in solid-waste landfills or incinerators,” says the iPod maker.