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Report: Apple to use recycled rare earths in key iPhone component

Apple Inc. will use recycled rare earth elements in its iPhones, Reuters reported Sept. 18, citing Lisa Jackson, vice president of the company's environment, policy and social initiatives.

The minerals will be used in the iPhone's Taptic Engine, which simulates a physical button click and accounts for about one-quarter of the rare earth elements inside the iPhone.

The move comes amid the U.S. Defense Department's efforts to reduce the United States' dependence on China, which globally dominates the processing of these specialized minerals.

Jackson said this is not related to the U.S.-China trade war, although it may help the U.S. keep a steady domestic supply of rare earths after China's state planning agency issued a statement in May that was seen as a veiled threat that it could restrict the export of these minerals.

The executive called the move a "happy coincidence" as it is expected to be good for the environment, while the scale of the project will help make it economically viable.

Even though Apple often aims to reuse parts from its old devices, in this case, it plans to use recycled rare earths from an outside supplier as the parts in which the minerals reside within the used iPhones are so small that collecting them for recycling is difficult and expensive, according to the report.

The company did not specify the name of the supplier or the products the rare earths were going to be recovered from; however, it mentioned that the source will be post-industrial, implying that the rare earths will be produced from manufacturing processes instead of disposed consumer products.

"We have essentially made a market for this entrepreneur, this innovator, who found a way to recycle rare earths," Jackson said.

Meanwhile, Apple is experimenting with ways to recover rare earths from its phones using robots, which can collect enough material to make recycling viable.