Some time later the company Apple has initiated a buy-back program through which he allowed customers to give him an old smartphone in exchange for one New iPhone, they receive a discount voucher for the purchase of the new device, the money offered being much less than what a person could have received through the second-hand sale.
In 2014, the Apple company collected over 40.000 tons of products that were recycled, and the partners of those from Cupertino say that the business is a very profitable one, mainly because of the requirements that those from Cupertino have for this process.
Although it is normally cheaper to reuse certain components of a smartphone than to destroy it completely, the Apple company prefers to completely destroy all iPhones taken from customers to prevent the reuse of counterfeit terminal parts sold on the black market.
In this idea, the partners who recycle its products must have factories dedicated to this operation, they are constantly guarded by people who make sure that the Apple logos disappear from each terminal, that the storage media are completely erased and the parts are completely destroyed .
The recycling process of an iPhone begins in an Apple store, or that of a partner, where the terminal is inspected by an employee, and if the device can be resold, it is sent for resale, but if it cannot be resold, it is sent for recycling .
In recycling plants, all shipments of iPhones are weighed before entering the factory, then the devices are disassembled for separate destruction, the result of this process being in some cases used to create other components.
Certain materials are extracted from the material resulting from the destruction, which are then sorted and sent to the smelters where metals or other materials are produced, which are then used in the production of other components for iPhones.
The process itself is very complicated, but the Apple company initiated it to ensure that the parts of old iPhones are not used for counterfeit products that are sold mainly in Asia.
