Apple is back in its home away from home; in court, we mean. According to The Logic (via AppleInsider), the tech giant is suing a Canadian recycling company called Geep Canada alleging that the company stole 100,000 Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. Apple has been using the company since 2014 to disassemble these devices and recycle them.
Apple accuses a recycling company of selling devices that were supposed to be stripped
The interesting thing is that Geep Canada does not deny that the devices in question were stolen. But in a counterclaim filed by the company, he claims that three dishonest employees were responsible for the thefts that reportedly occurred without the company’s knowledge. Apple says the three so-called “rogue employees” are actually members of Geep Canada’s top management.
The filing Apple filed with the court says that between January 2015 and December 2017, the company shipped 531,966 iPhones, 25,673 iPads and 19,277 Apple Watches to Geep Canada. When Apple visited the recycler’s warehouse for an audit, it found that some of its devices were stored separately from other companies’ devices. When Apple discovered that there were no security cameras monitoring that equipment, the company decided to verify the serial numbers of all the devices it shipped to Geep Canada. What it found was that 18% of the devices it had sent to Geep for parts stripping – a total of 103,845 phones, tablets and watches – were active on networks owned by wireless providers. Apple notes that the actual number of stolen devices is higher as non-cellular iPad and Apple Watch models would not appear on carriers’ lists.
Apple’s lawsuit shows that “at least 11,766 pounds of Apple devices left the Geep facility without being destroyed, a fact that Geep itself confirmed.” The manufacturer is seeking $ 22.7 million from Geep Canada. Given that someone was able to sell the devices in question, you may be wondering why Apple just didn’t decide to sell them. But the tech giant told The Verge that “products sent for recycling are no longer suitable for sale to consumers and if rebuilt with counterfeit parts, they could cause serious safety issues, including electrical or battery defects.” Selling these devices when they are no longer safe or good to use can not only hurt consumers, but it can also damage Apple’s reputation if these products don’t perform up to par. Apple filed the lawsuit in January 2020, although the thefts were discovered in 2017-2018. Since Apple took on Geep Canada, he stopped working with the company.
Earlier this year, we told you that Apple is looking to recycle all the parts used in its devices and become a closed-loop manufacturer. Apple also relies on robots like Daisy that can remove and maintain parts of 200 iPhones per hour. But not everyone believes that Apple benefits better by recycling old products. Consider Kyle Wiens, the founder of the iFixit device repair company. I would rather have Apple repair older iPhones rather than take them apart and recycle the parts.
Daisy the robot can take apart an iPhone (think of it doing the opposite of what Foxconn’s assembly line does) using a blast of icy air weighing -176 degrees Fahrenheit. Apple removes and maintains screws and modules and sends some parts to recycling companies to extract the minerals. Cobalt is extracted from the batteries inside these older devices and used in new batteries. Once Daisy removes the screen, sensors, screws, logic boards, and wireless charging coil from an iPhone, all that’s left is an aluminum chassis. Aluminum is reused in newer devices, while the solder used to mount components in new devices is produced from 100% recycled tin.
