Apple rejoins EPEAT, admits quitting was a mistake

by Barbara Kyle |

July 13th, 2012

Apple gives itself a Gold grade for laptop where the battery is glued in

Apple glues the battery to the case of its Mac Book Pro with retina display. Photo courtesy of iFixit.

Apple rejoined the EPEAT green electronics program today, relisting its qualifying products on the EPEAT registry of computer products that meet the IEEE standard 1680.1 for environmentally preferable attributes. Apple published a statement on its website today, from Senior VP Bob Mansfield, saying that leaving EPEAT “was a mistake.”

Apple took a lot of heat for quitting EPEAT. The City of San Francisco had said they would no longer purchase Apple computers. The San Jose Mercury news published a scathing editorial yesterday, calling on Apple to “think green, not greed.”

Apple had unexpectedly quit the EPEAT program recently, suddenly removing all of its products from the registry – the list that EPEAT maintains to let purchasers know which products are EPEAT-rated, and at what rating level (bronze, silver, or gold). This move was surprising, given that Apple has been a leader in many aspects of environmental design, like selecting recyclable, and less toxic materials. All its products on the registry were at the Gold level.

It’s generally believed that Apple had quit EPEAT because it’s new flagship laptop – the Mac Book Pro with retina display – couldn’t meet some of EPEAT’s “Design for End of Life” criteria because Apple glues the battery into the laptop with industrial strength glue. This makes it impossible for consumers to replace the battery themselves, but even the super-experienced repair guys at iFixit couldn’t remove the battery without puncturing it, “releasing hazardous goo all over.”

Apple should flunk EPEAT for gluing in the battery

While we are very glad to see that Apple has rejoined the EPEAT program, we are astonished to see that in reposting its products to the EPEAT registry, Apple has actually listed four versions of the Mac Book Pro with retina as EPEAT Gold level products. We seriously doubt that these Mac Books should qualify for EPEAT at any level because we think they flunk two required criteria in the “Design for End of Life” section of the standard. They are:

Criterion 4.3.1.3: External enclosures shall be easily removable by one person alone with commonly available tools.
While you can open up the enclosure, you can’t completely remove one half of the casing from the large group of batteries. They are glued to the case with industrial strength glue.

Criterion 4.3.1.5 Identification and removal of components containing hazardous materials.
This criteria specifically applies to batteries, as well as circuit boards over 10 cm2 and other components, and says they must be safely and easily removable. Gluing the battery in does not quality as “easily removable.” In fact, it’s exactly the kind of design that this standard seeks to discourge.

It’s important to understand that the manufacturers grade themselves against the EPEAT criteria first, and then EPEAT conducts a review of this grading. That EPEAT review has not yet occurred. They can require the manufacturers to remove any product from the registry if it is not found to conform to the IEEE standard.

Apple is often a design leader in electronics, but they really blew it here. They are ignoring a really important design goal here – designing to promote product longevity and reuse. Designers should make it as easy as possible for users to replace their own batteries. This is like designing a car with tires that you can’t replace when you have a flat without making an appointment at the dealer and paying them a hefty fee for the tire.

We hope Apple’s next version of this Mac Book Pro comes with a removable battery.

76 Responses to “Apple rejoins EPEAT, admits quitting was a mistake”

And, now for the truth:

The industrial-strength glue easily releases the MacBook Pro with Retina display’s batteries after warming on the case side from a common hair dryer. The batteries remain intact. They are removed with a common a putty knife. The same way iPads and iPhones are disassembled.

A 5-point (pentapoint) screwdriver opens the case. Everything else inside comes out with ease.

Construction that lasts twice as long and uses less material is greener than one that lasts half as long, uses more material.

The smart and nimble have already figured out why Apple – however clumsily and bluntly – tried to move forward and why the company’s approach is better for the environment. The rest are left behind, struggling to figure out why, for example, non-removable batteries coupled with free Apple recycling programs that safely dispose of them in an environmentally responsible manner are better than the old removable batteries, still loved by the EPEAT anachronism, the vast majority of which end up being dumped straight into landfills, the world’s oceans, and God only knows where else.

So, it’s not at all difficult to grasp: You buy the Apple product, you use it up, you send it back to Apple for free, and Apple makes sure it doesn’t end up fouling the planet. A simple, clean, closed loop. No other tech company comes close to Apple on protecting the environment. Period.

If all you want is to dispose of your unwanted equipment — regardless of brand — Apple Inc. will help you do that. Apple contracts with Sims Recycling Solutions to responsibly recycle computers and displays from any manufacturer. Sims Recycling Solutions feature domestic processing facilities where a zero-landfill policy and proven sustainability give you peace of mind in knowing that your electronics will be managed responsibly. Just call 800-966-4135 to receive a free prepaid shipping label. Then pack up your equipment using your own box and send it off. For more information about Sims Recycling Solutions, visit http://oem.srsapp.com/ApplePoweredBysims

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The iPad 2 is glued together, yet is easily opened using a heat gun – see step 4 in the teardown:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad-2-Wi-Fi-Teardown/5071/1

As such, why should gluing in the battery of the new Mac Book Pro Retina be such a big deal when it lets them build the machines using less material (which is shown in part by how much thinner and lighter is it than the non-retina version) ?

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the Batteries are not glued with industrial strength glue… they are easily taken out with a screwdriver…

if you read iFixit’s first report of the disassembly, iFixIt said, you can’t do it without damaging a main cable, they made no mention of it being not being able to pry up, just tough to do without damage…. that doesn’t mean they don’t pry out easily though…. they even show a battery half pried out, but stopped for fear of damage… lets’ be clear, a recycler could care less whether the aluminum is bent, or the battery is damaged… the aluminum is still recyclable… and the battery is still as toxic. and by the way, please name all the computers that are made out of aluminum, so that they CAN BE RECYCLED in the first place…. hello?

now later after the hoopla someone there at fixit is “embellishing” on how much elbow grease you need, fine, it is still easy to remove with a large flat chisel, just by prying…. BY ONE PERSON… and even when you puncture the battery, that still means it is recyclable.. because those batteries are not… they just need to be removed… punctured or not, they still are hazardous…

so both of those criteria are in fact easy to do… by one person…. with a screwdriver or other sucy instrument….

the standard does not say you can’t “glue” the batteries, it says it has to be removed easily, and one person with a screwdriver can remove them about as fast as the time it took to unscrew the case and the circuit board screws….

does that mean the case is “hard to remove” too? where did you get the impression that “glue” is a hazard or bad? or that glue isn’t used in every other complex product that is recycled?

After all this is said and done, i do agree with iFixIt, that they should not put glue on the cables, (nor use too much glue) so that the battery can be pried out without damage to the computer FOR FIXING THE COMPUTER, this has nothing to do with recycling the computer, and what this story/organization is about though. It still can be pried out in about the time it takes to unscrew the circuit board, which is another task that people appear to think is “easily” removed, yet it takes longer.

Posted by: honkj | July 15th, 2012 14:31

seriously, ask a recycler whether they would have trouble removing the battery? and more importantly, whether they value the aluminum? as opposed to what other manufactures use? that being said, yes, make a stink, i would like them to use less glue, so that they are fixable, but that has nothing to do with recyclability….

and don’t get me started on “sustainability” when this manufacture uses a 4 to 5 year life battery, while others use 2 year life batteries, and worse, when they replace the battery, people use cheap knock offs from china, so they infact last a year at most…. filling the landfills with 3 times as many batteries, as one that is “glued” in… so people can’t buy cheap knock offs from china…. in bells and whistles going off there for you?

tell us again about “sustainability” after you do a life cycle test on the two methods….

Posted by: honkj | July 15th, 2012 14:37

and please remove the spam that is accumulated in your comments… it is embarrassing that you help these spammers with links to their sites, when you are expressing “green” while these same spammers fill our trash bags with junk mail, (same ones that spam on the internet)

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Great post, thanks for sharing. It’s good to see Apple returning to EPEAT.

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