Apple no longer focused on ‘green’ products for now

Apparently, the new MacBook Pro featuring the new high-resolution “retina” display has signalled the end of Apple’s commitment to “green” products. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple will be pulling out products erstwhile rated as environmentally-friendly by the Green Electronics Council using their Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT).

EPEAT criteria requires products to be designed in such a way that enables easy disassembly by recyclers so that toxic components such as batteries can be separated before disposal. But then…

One of Apple’s newest products, the MacBook Pro with a high-resolution “Retina” display, was nearly impossible to fully disassemble, said Kyle Wiens, co-founder of iFixit.com, a website that provides directions for users to repair their own machines. The battery was glued to the case, and the glass display was glued to its back. The product, released just a month ago, had not been submitted for EPEAT certification, according to the organization.

[Robert Frisbee, CEO of EPEAT] said that the structure of that laptop would have made it ineligible for certification. “If the battery is glued to the case it means you can’t recycle the case and you can’t recycle the battery,” Frisbee said.

Perhaps, yet again, design trumps all else as it always has at Apple. Many Apple products defy conventional engineering sensibilities and the late Apple founder Steven Jobs is renowned for pushing challenging design requirements onto engineers’ to-do lists. User experience and sleekness has always been paramount at Apple and the company has been handsomely rewarded by the market as a result of this singular corporate focus.

benign0

benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.