Liam, Apple's iPhone-disassembling robot, made a mint this year as the company revealed that its recycling initiative raked in millions of dollars in reusable materials that could've wound up in a landfill.
The information was released as part of Apple's annual Environmental Responsibility Report, divulging the company's practices, policies, and plans in accordance to how they impact the environment.
The company claims that last year alone, 61,357,800 pounds (approximately 27,831,430 kilos) of steel, glass, plastic, cobalt, nickel, and other materials were recovered as part of take-back initiatives like Apple Renew, but the real bank came from the gold and copper Apple extracted.
Business Insider values the 2,204 lbs of gold recovered this year to be worth nearly just under $40 million, and 9to5Mac estimates that the amount of copper saved, weighed in at just under three million pounds' worth, adds an extra $6 million.
These metals - crucial in making circuit boards, chips, and other computing components - aren't exactly a renewable or cheap resource, so with every pound of the precious metals kept from the garbage heap, Apple also saves itself quite a pretty penny.
Recycling isn't Apple's only eco-friendly initiative of late, as the company also detailed efforts to vastly reduce power consumption both on its campus and in your device, as well as promote apps raising funds for the World Wrestl–I mean, World Wildlife Federation in celebration of Earth Day.
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