Apple announces that its iPhones will soon be made entirely from woven hemp and recycled isinglass
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Apple orders its suppliers to decarbonize by 2030
“No plastics, no copper, aluminum, cobalt; nothing that can’t be found by peasants picking up all-natural ingredients lying on the ground”, Apple CEO Tim Cook proudly promised.
The Circuit Board
This is the ‘brain’ of the phone, like a computer.
The circuit board consist of many wires (copper) or circuits made of metal, located on a plastic (made from petroleum) or fibreglass board.
The raw materials required to make the components for circuit boards include crude oil (to make plastics), and silicon.
Other metals such as copper, gold, lead, nickel, zinc, beryllium and tantalumare mined to make components that are used to make the board as well. Many of the raw materials that are used in the manufacturing of the circuit board contain substances that can be potentially harmful to the environment if they are buried in landfill.
Liquid Crystal Display
This is the display on a phone that shows numbers, images and other information. The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) are made using plastic, glass, liquid crystalline and mercury. Mercury is a heavy metal which can potentially be harmful to the environment if it ends up in landfill.
Batteries
We will cover batteries in another product segment. However, to give a fuller account of the mobile (cell) phone manufacture a brief summary of the battery follows.
Batteries consist of two separate parts, called electrodes, made from two different types of metals. A liquid substance, called electrolytes, touches each electrode. When electricity is applied, like a phone charger, chemical reactions between the electrodes and the electrolytes cause an electric current to flow, enabling the storage of power, which is used (discharged) by the mobile (cell) phone for our calls, emails and to access the internet etc.
Manufacturing of the Mobile (Cell) Phone
Plastics and fibreglass are used to make the circuit board, which is then coated with gold plating. The board is also composed of several electronic components, connected with circuits and wires made of copper, which are soldered to the board and secured with protective glues and coatings.
The LCD screens are manufactured by layering liquid crystal between layers of glass or plastic.
There is, of course, an alternative to cellphones:
