Journey Of The Apple Pencil
Have you ever wondered how the Apple pencil that you use every day for your iPad was made, and how much pollution it took to be made?
Introduction:
Have you ever wondered where the Apple Pencil you use every day with your device is made? How much pollution it results in for just your one Apple Pencil to be constructed?
The Apple Pencil, is a product designed and made by Apple. There are a series of Apple Pencils, each one more advanced than the other. The Apple Pencil can be used just like a normal graphite pencil, but on Apple products only.
The Apple Pencil goes through a lot before it reaches stores and gets into your hands. Parts for the Apple Pencil come from all around the world. To further learn how and where the Apple Pencil is made, where all the different parts come from, continue reading the story map.
This map shows all the interactions that occur around the world in order to create one Apple Pencil. In the end, all the raw materials are transported to China or Vietnam for final assembly. At last, the final product is transported to stores all around the globe.
Gold:
Within the Apple Pencil is a small piece of gold. This piece of gold is located on the antenna. Gold is a natural resource, which is considered non-renewable. This natural resource is extracted from the ground, through the process of mining.
The small piece of Gold which is found in the Apple Pencil gets mined from Columbia, and shipped to either China or Vietnam, to get assembled a part of the Apple Pencil.
This image shows the amount of gold one Apple Pencil contains.
Battery:
In order for the Apple Pencil to function, the battery is required. However, where does the battery from the Apple Pencil come? What is it made out of, and how are those materials extracted? Well, the battery of the Apple Pencil is a lithium-ion battery. Lithium for the battery is extracted from China or Argentina. However, the battery of an Apple Pencil is assembled in South Korea.
This is what the battery of an Apple Pencil looks like from the inside.
Lithium:
What is Lithium? Lithium is a non-renewable natural resource, and it can be found in Igneous rock, with the largest concentrations in granites. Mining operations use different methods to extract granite which forms in large deposits, called slabs. Once the Lithium is extracted, it is then sent to South Korea to be assembled.
This is an image of Lithium Ore.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
During the process of the Apple Pencil, numerous greenhouse gases are emitted (Carbon etc.) In 2018 it had been estimated that Apple produced approximately 18.65 million metric tons through the manufacturing process.
Environmental Actions:
Although creating an Apple Pencil does result into some pollution (Apple states 77% of their greenhouse gas emissions come from just the transportation of the product), the packaging of an Apple Pencil is 100% green, and one 90% recyclable. Altogether the packaging is made up of plastic, paperboard, and thermoformed polystyrene. Moreover, the packaging of all Apple products are biodegradable.
Furthermore, the Apple company has estimated that they can disassemble over 1.2 million devices yearly, using assistance from their robot, Liam.
Additionally, the Apple company states that 93% of their facilities are running on renewable energy.
Taking Action:
In order to reduce the pollution that comes from the Apple Pencil, and other Apple products, a simple way is to decrease the buy. It has been proven that Apple products have 2-3 years of proper use before they require a repair. However, by then a new model of that product has been released. So, if anything ever happens to your Apple product, try to control. Instead of purchasing the latest model, you can get your current device repaired so it lasts. Once the device cannot be used at all, it’s time to purchase another one.
