San Francisco city officials have vetoed purchases of new Apple Macintosh computers in city agencies after the technology giant pulled out of green scheme.
According to the CIO Journal, Apple pulled out of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) at the end of June after requesting 39 of its certified MacBooks to be removed from the voluntary registry and said it would no longer be submitting new devices to receive the green credentials.
EPEAT, which was created by manufacturers including Apple, government agencies, and activist groups, requires electronic products to be designed to enable easy recycling and increase energy efficiency, something that the new retina display and glued-in battery on the latest MacBook Pro do not conform to.
City officials in San Francisco have now told the BBC that they plan to ban local government agencies from buying new Apple Macintosh computers, in the hope that Apple will revert to producing recycling-friendly devices. The US government currently dictates that 95 per cent of all computers bought by official agencies must be EPEAT certified.
Though Apple has not explained why it has pulled out of the scheme it helped set up, a spokesperson from Apple reportedly told the BBC: "Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government. We also lead the industry by reporting each product's greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials."
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.