EPEAT Defends Verification of Ultrathin Notebooks for Environmental Registry

[gnasher729]

I retract my argument that they are not fully recyclable, it seems that the general consensus is that the rdmb can be recycled as much as all other Apple computers. I would feel much better though if Apple elaborated on it's recycling program given the concerns that have been brought up.

Go to www.apple.com and click on the link "Environment".

 

[gnasher729]

And yes, certainly people can choose to use rMBPs with failed batteries. And broken screens. And if the mother board fails, you could still use it as a paperweight. I mean, end of life is just crazy talk right?

That's quite pathetic actually.

The rBMP battery lasts 1000 charges. Depending on your usage, that is between 3 years and forever. No matter what the usage, it's three times longer than a 2008 battery. $200 for a replacement is inexpensive, compared to the cost of replacing three batteries in 2008. And there are many posters asking "is it Ok for the battery to leave the MBP plugged in permanently", so each of these posters might not even take notice of a broken battery. If _you_ can't live with a non-working battery, and you are too cheap to replace it, just put it on eBay. Someone will gladly pick it up. So yes, disposing of a rBMP because the battery stopped working would be idiotic, even if you couldn't replace the battery.

Broken screen: You can replace a broken screen. You can't do it yourself, but people replacing broken screens on laptops themselves are a tiny, tiny minority that is completely irrelevant. And a rBMP with a broken and unrepairable screen is basically a flattened out high-end MacMini. Or a tiny not-quite-high-end MacPro. If you don't need a MacMini or MacPro, put it on eBay and someone will gladly buy it. It's a brilliant desktop computer.

Broken motherboard and not repairable? That's end of life. That's where EPEAT comes in and tells you that it will be properly recycled. But broken motherboards are just as repairable as anywhere else, and broken motherboards are never cheap to replace.

 

[gnasher729]

If you have a look on the EPEAT site, and find the page which details Apple's computers (http://ww2.epeat.net/PublicSearchResults.aspx?return=pm&epeatcountryid=1&manufacturer=32), you'll find that the rMBP rates 21/25 on the "optional" criteria, which is as high as or higher than any of their other machines. It is perfectly reasonable therefore to claim it's one of their most recyclable computers ever. Indeed, if you look at ALL products from ALL manufacturers (http://ww2.epeat.net/publicsearchresults.aspx?return=searchoptions&epeatcountryid=1), you'll find that there are only four machines with a higher rating, and none of them are laptops.

Just saying: There are four items on the first page with higher rating, but there are more on other pages. For some bizarre reason the sorting function only works within one page.

Another comment: I wonder if the rating is based on the percentage of materials that can be recycled, or on the absolute amount that cannot be recycled. In the first case, of two devices with same rating the lighter one would actually be better for the environment.

 

[pacalis]

Broken motherboard and not repairable? That's end of life. That's where EPEAT comes in and tells you that it will be properly recycled. But broken motherboards are just as repairable as anywhere else, and broken motherboards are never cheap to replace.

Look, you're the guy using a computer without a working battery. That's not a tenable solution for many people. Neither is a broken screen. But I conceded already that it does depend on replacement cost and at least on the battery the rMBP solution is reasonable.

But where you really go wrong, and perhaps the main place where iFixit is right, is that the motherboard in a rMBP also includes a non-serviceable $500 or $1500 cost of SSD and $200-$400 cost of RAM. So it's simply NOT just as repairable as anywhere else.

 

[Judas1]

Upgradability and fixabikity have nothing to do with the EPEAT standards.

Yes they do. What do you think epeat is there for.

You should understand that the CEO of iFixit is not the author of the pseudo-governmental EPEAT standard, and he is therefore not an expert.

You may also wish to note that what is really not addressed is the thunderbolt connector on Macs and other recent laptops. This is actually an external PCI bus, complicating the concept of upgradeability. Maybe you should focus on that instead of the USB comments that have always been part of the standard.

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Actually, they do. But it is just one small part, and the Macbooks all follow the required part (4.4.2), which is simply: Upgradeable with common tools.

Of course iFixit is not the author of the epeat standard. Thats not the point. The point was that they know gadgets as their job is to tear down gadgets. And so their words have weight. And its up to epeat to set the standards themselves, so an outside source is good to have in judging if that standard makes sense or is being fudged.