Apple says 30% of the material in products shipped in 2025 came from recycled content; all Apple‑designed batteries now use 100% recycled cobalt

A headline-making sustainability claim

It has been reported that Apple reached a new recycling milestone in 2025: 30% of the material across all products it shipped last year came from recycled content. Big numbers. Bigger implications. Apple’s annual Environmental Progress Report also reportedly says every Apple‑designed battery now uses 100% recycled cobalt, all magnets use recycled rare earths, and printed circuit boards carry recycled gold plating and tin soldering — a tidy list of firsts if true.

Hardware and process highlights

The MacBook Neo leads the parade with 60% recycled content, helped by a new aluminum forming process that reportedly halves raw‑material use compared with traditional machining. Apple also claims an anodization step that reuses 70% of its water — turning a formerly thirsty production stage into something close to a near‑closed loop. On the recycling front, it has been reported that Apple opened Cora, an Advanced Recovery Center line using precision shredding and advanced sensors, and developed A.R.I.S., a machine‑learning system running on the Mac mini to help sort e‑scrap.

Supply chain, energy, water and waste

Apple says suppliers bought more than 20 gigawatts of renewable energy under its Supplier Clean Energy Program in 2025, generating more than 38 million megawatt‑hours — enough, the company notes, to power over 3.4 million U.S. homes for a year — while Apple itself procured another 1.8 GW. It has been reported that the company and suppliers saved 17 billion gallons of fresh water, replenished over half of the water they withdrew, and diverted more than 600,000 metric tons of waste from landfills, with Apple Fifth Avenue earning TRUE Zero Waste certification.

What to watch next

This is a big step toward Apple’s 2030 carbon‑neutrality goal. But — and it's a healthy but — independent verification and long‑term consistency matter. Can these processes scale across more suppliers and devices? Will recycled feedstocks remain available and ethically sourced at the volumes Apple is now promising? The numbers are impressive on paper. The real question is whether the industry — and regulators, investors and consumers — will see these claims turn into lasting change.

Sources: macrumors.com