Meet Apple's newest development in iPhone recycling: Liam, the 29-armed robot

"There's no other machine in the world that can do what Liam can do", Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, said at a press event in Silicon Valley on Monday, where Apple also announced new models of the iPhone and iPad Pro. Apple says that, as it is, Liam can take an iPhone to pieces in about 11 seconds, and separate and salvage its most valuable components, such as lithium and cobalt battery parts, gold and copper bits from the camera, and silver and platinum pieces from the motherboard. Apple recently said that it sold over 231 million iPhones in 2015 alone. The company is promoting Apple Renew, a recycling program that lets you exchange your old device for an Apple gift card, but 70 percent of e-waste is likely to end up in landfills, anyway.

"It's notable that they (Apple) are talking about this, but unless you get one of these robots inside every recycler in the world, it's not going to have an impact", Mr. Wiens said.

Apple can save money as well when using Liam because the company does not need to purchase additional expensive materials again.

Project Liam is an Apple in-house robot that basically takes apart an old iPhone that is out of use.

"If it's easy for a robot, that's great,"Gary Cook, an activist for environmental organisation Greenpeace, which has been critical of Apple in the past, told Reuters".

Man Arrested for Punching Protester Is an Air Force Member
Another video posted on Twitter, taken from only a few feet away, offers a more graphic view of the incident. He was stationed in South Korea twice and in New Mexico before moving to Davis-Monthan in December 2012.

Two years ago, the tech giant said it wanted to be 100 percent energy-renewable in its worldwide operations. For example, tungsten from the vibrator from the phones can be reused as cutting tools and the silver from logic board may find its use as solar panel components.

Jackson also detailed how Apple found a way to build a 40-megawatt solar farm in Sichuan Province, China, without disturbing the local yak population by working with farmers to ensure hay production wasn't disturbed by the presence of the solar array.

Computers made by other companies tend to be more modular and easier to break apart.

Apple's focus on recycling iPhones isn't the only thing the company is doing to be more eco-friendly.

And that could mean tears her apart in more way than one.