Apple's IPhone Contains Hazardous Materials, Greenpeace Says

Apple Inc.'s iPhone contains hazardous chemicals and materials that are difficult to recycle, according to the environmental group Greenpeace. Some iPhone components tested positive for chlorinated plastic polyvinyl chloride and bromine flame retardants that can be a toxin after being thrown away, Greenpeace said in a report titled "Missing Call: iPhone's Hazardous Material." The combination handheld media player's battery also is typically glued and soldered to the handset, making it more difficult to remove for recycling, the environmental group said. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced in May that the computer maker would improve its environmental practices by recycling more in an effort to become a "greener" company. By the end of the year Apple plans to enlarge its recycling program to cover 93 percent of the countries where it sells Macintosh computers and iPod music players. "Steve Jobs has missed the call on making the iPhone his first step towards greening Apple's products." Zeina Alhajj, a toxics campaigner for Greenpeace International, said in the statement. Greenpeace last year ranked Apple last of 14 computer manufacturers in its annual "Guide to Green Electronics." Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, was ranked first in the survey. Greenpeace said Nokia doesn't use PVC in any of its components. Motorola Inc., the largest U.S. maker of mobile phones, and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, the world's fourth-largest maker of mobile phones, have products available without bromine fire retardants. Greenpeace tested an iPhone purchased at a Washington store. The environmental group said all the components tested met European Union standards preventing the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and certain brominated flame retardants in electrical and electronic goods. A call by Bloomberg News to Apple Inc.'s communications office wasn't immediately returned.