Green Macbook

Miroslav Novak 3rd year ART 115

Anyone who like new technologies but also cares about environment and about what surrounds them definitely registered the commercial promoting new green Macbook. The commercial itself doesnt say anything about new macbooks qualities and updates but focuses just on environmental impact of the product. What is really behind the announcement: The new Macbooks - the worlds greenest family of notebooks? Are they really as green as they promote and what exactly is so environment friendly about them? To what degree are its parts recyclable? The new Macbook design doesnt change much from the previous version, but there are so many little things which make users life more practical and easier. The color remains white and everything looks even smoother than it used to be. New unibody enclosure has rounded contours and it is made of single part of aluminium. It is even lighter at 4.7 pounds compared to 5 pounds for previous version and proportions remain the same at 1.08 x 13.00 x 9.12 inches. Laptop is a thing that will probably never achieve sustainability, but if it does so, it wont be in near future. Apple with his new Macbook makes a little step to minimize its impact on the environment. In the most recent version of Greenpeaces Guide to Greener Electronics released in July 2009 Apple scores 4.7 out of 10 (no change compared to previous version), which is still really low number. Even more it drops to 11th place out of 18 companies being ranked, but getting credit for its new Macbook. The guide ranks the top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate chase. Just for information, the winner Nokia scored 7.45. Apple is being criticized for advertising their products to be free of BFRs and PVC, when Greenpeace states that it fails to score high on this particular criterion because it uses unreasonably high threshold limits for PVC and BFRs in products that are advertised as PVC/BFR free. Apple also removes other toxins from its products mercury from LED

displays, arsenic from glass, and in some countries PVC from internal cables and power adapters. On the other side it gets points on the e-waste criteria, while it has improved coverage of its take back program with the take back and recycling services extended to countries in the Asia-Pacific region (India, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Korea, Australia). It reports a recycling rate in 2006 of 18% as a percentage of sales 7 years ago, and in 2008 it was almost 42% (it also set a new goal of achieving a 50% recycling rate by 2010). If a user decides to use Apples recycling program, they have 3 options of recycling their old computer products. They can recycle their computer batteries by bringing them to one of the Apple Retail Stores. I think that Apple should motivate its customers by lowering price of new batteries if they bring to recycle their old ones. Now users dont really care of recycling their old batteries, if they are not environmentally interested. The other option is recycling an old Macbook, when not buying a new one. Here its the same problem, even more you have to pay $30 for prepaid shipping label from the Electronic Recycling Program. Again, there is no motivation for standard users to care whats going to happen with their old computers. The last option that Apple offers is free recycling of an old system with the purchase of any qualifying Apple computer or display. Another thing which makes it look like We dont want to be bothered too much with your old stuff is an option to recycle one computer, one monitor, and peripheral computer equipment with each qualifying purchase transaction. In other words, if you like environment and you want to recycle, you have to pay for it and you have to put in your effort. All this make Apples recycling program look like there is just an option of recycling instead of Do you want a new computer? Bring your old one and you will get 10% off, or something motivational like that. On the other side Apple claims that all products are processed in the country in which they are collected, so at least there is not too much CO2 emissions produced by transportation of these products.

If we look at the Macbook itself, one of the things that is announced as a progress is durable unibody enclosure. Apple says that replacing multiple parts with just one part represents complete revolution in the way that notebooks are made. It is carved out of one solid block of aluminium, which makes it completely recyclable. But what Apple doesnt mention is the fact that the computer case is sliced out of 2.5 lb brick of highly processed aluminium and at the end of the process there is just a 0.5 lb case. It means that the manufacturers have to create a block of metal with certain amount of energy and then they will just cut the majority of it off. The shavings go to the recycle bin and they are re-melted and re-processed again, the question then is how much energy all this process of creating aluminium bricks consumes. Apple states, that, other than aluminium, the new Macbook contains recyclable materials, such as polycarbonate and magnesium. These three materials contained in one Macbook weigh 760 grams in total. With 2135 grams of all material used for one Macbook it gives 28% of recyclable materials used in one computer. Another innovative thing that Apple seems to be proud of is energy efficiency. It even says that the new computer runs on a quarter of power of a single light bulb (15 W). Macbook includes an efficient power adapter that reduces the amount of power wasted when bringing electricity from the wall to the computer. Another power reducing component is a LED display, which consume 30 percent less energy than conventional LCDs. There are also software savings of power if you use Mac OS X. It is able to regulate processor activity between keystrokes, and therefore save milliwatts of power. All these energy efficient ideas have helped the new Macbook to meet low power requirements to earn the EPAs Energy Star. What could be questionable is the new battery. It is a built-in lithium polymer battery which can last up to 7 hours. This battery can be recharged up to 1000 times, which refers to 5 years of usage. If a user is not satisfied with battery capacity at standard notebooks with removable batteries, the procedure is that he purchases a new battery after about 2 years. In

this new Apples product the battery survive 5 years but the procedure of removing the battery is not as easy as simply switching a new battery for an old one. I believe that in 5 years technology will move forward and customers will rather buy a new computer instead of new battery. Last thing which makes the new Macbook greener is not even a part of the computer but its the package which it comes in. It is something which should be automatic and which wouldnt have to be noted at all. The packaging for Macbook uses corrugate cardboard made from a minimum of 25 percent post-consumer recycled content, and its free of expanded polystyrene. The packaging is 53% smaller than that of the original Macbook, and 20% smaller than for the previous models, so more products can fit in planes when transported resulting in fewer CO2 emissions. But as said above, its just Apples own fault that it didnt use more efficient packaging before. Apple is trying to look like it cares and I personally think that they are moving in a right direction, even though not everything is environment friendly yet. With the new generation of its products they will definitely achieve better rating by organizations like Greenpeace, it just needs some time for finding better way to achieve sustainability, even though it might be never achieved.

References: www.apple.com

www.greenpeace.org

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/danielle-sacks/ad-verse-effect/new-macbook-green-askgreenpeace

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/the-new-macbooks-green-credentials/

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2208/71/