Your iMac and iPod Can Live Again – Apple Recycles
Did your cool new Apple gadget just die?
Well, maybe it's not so new anymore. The two or three years since you bought your last iPod have just flown by. That's the lifespan Apple gives the Lithium Ion batteries used in its iPod. iPhone is a bit too new to be talking battery lifespan but its time is surely coming.
Of course, you can have the iPod battery replaced by Apple for a reasonable price. But many consumers are liable to just buy the latest model.
This raises the question: What will you do with your old Apple gadgets?
Apple sells far more digital audio players than any other electronics company – in fact, more than all others combined. Because of that success, the company came under fire for its lack of recycling program to divert the large amount of resultant toxic waste from landfills.
Because of these concerns from customers and investors, Apple implemented a recycling program for its iPods, as well as for its computers and monitors.
Customers can bring their old iPod into any Apple store and drop it off to be recycled. If they decide to purchase a new iPod on the same day, they are eligible for a 10 per cent discount as well.
iPods, like nearly all electronic devices, contain mercury, lead and cadmium. All are toxic and are generally undesirable in landfills because they leach into the soil and water, accumulating in fish and other animals and eventually in human beings.
By recycling your iPod rather than throwing it away, you can get a discount and keep toxic chemicals from finding their way into our air, water or food supply.
Most electronic devices can be recycled but recycling programs are sometimes difficult to find, depending on your location and the type of device. Apple is taking steps in the right direction and helping lead the way by 
offering a readily-accessible, return/recycle program for small electronics.
Apple has also introduced a recycling program for its computers and monitors, but not in the same manner as the iPod.
Apple customers can pay $30 for a prepaid UPS shipping label to send back their Mac computers or monitors instead of dropping them off at the city dump. It might cost a few dollars but the program will allow consumers to be environmentally responsible.
As part of this recycling program, Apple pledged that all iPods accepted will be recycled within North America in accordance with all environmental standards, rather than being shipped overseas to be processed under less strict environmental and labor regulations as a cost-saving measure.
