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 You have a drawer, or maybe even a closet, filled with broken, outdated, or obsolete electronics.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.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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