Robot can disassemble and recycle 200 iPhones an hour

Admit it. You have a drawer, or maybe even a closet, filled with broken, outdated, or obsolete electronics. You keep telling yourself that one day you’ll get rid of these once-loved treasures, but it never seems to happen. You paid for all these state-of-the-art devices, so you might as well keep them. So they continue to sit, perfectly preserved for future generations to discover in a time capsule.

Luckily, Daisy is here to help. Daisy is a recycling robot created by Apple. According to the company, Daisy can disassemble 23 different iPhone models, allowing Apple to recover valuable materials within, like rare earth magnets, tungsten, and steel.

Writers from The Irish Times visited an Apple facility in the Netherlands to watch Daisy in action. “The process is fascinating to watch,” says Ciara O’Brien, an Irish Times business and technology journalist. “First, the iPhones are loaded in and the case is levered away from the glass. Then the batteries are frozen to loosen the adhesive and removed with a sudden impact. Another station punches holes in the case to remove the screws so the various components can be taken out, to be sorted by hand.”

According to 9to5Mac, Daisy functions at a speed of 200 iPhones an hour and is capable of recycling 1.2 million devices a year.

So don’t disappoint Daisy. Recycle your obsolete iPhones and help support the circular economy.