Apple, long known to be forward thinking and cutting edge, has dropped its EPEAT certification, saying that its design direction no longer aligns with the program’s requirements.
EPEAT, or the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool is a national certifying standard, partially funded by the EPA, that tells consumers which electronic products are “environmentally preferable.” Just last week, all of Apple’s computers were certified as EPEAT Gold. Now, they’re not on the index at all.
IFixit.org blames their new Retina MacBook Pro for the change. After taking the computer apart, they discovered that they could not separate the battery from the upper case without a lot of elbow grease and an eventual puncture of the battery, which then leaked “hazardous goo” all over the place. Gluing in these batteries makes the recycling process much more difficult because the workers can’t easily separate the components.
How this will affect sales has yet to be seen, as many large companies prefer to buy computers from EPEAT-certified brands. The U.S. government, for example, requires that 95 percent of its electronics bear the EPEAT seal.
Even after dropping the EPEAT certification, Apple remains certified with the EPA’s Energy Star Program and maintains its Apple and the Environment page.
Main photo credit: Ian Dick/Flickr