Apple Releases First Mercury-Free Laptop
Apple released the company’s latest laptop on Tuesday, and among the many advanced features touted by CEO Steve Jobs, it is the first computer with a mercury-free display.
The MacBook Air will also have arsenic free glass, providing an eco-friendly option to relying on chemicals that cause trouble for the environment when improperly disposed. Mercury can contaminate soil and water if disposed of in a landfill.
The new computer’s case is made of lead.
For those looking to upgrade, Apple also offers free recycling of existing computers (regardless of brand) at no cost with the purchase of a new MacBook. To learn more about the effects of electronics on the environment, visit Earth 911′s Electronics page.
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments.
The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Josh
posted on January 15th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
This is great news! Should make other manufacturers stepup and do the same!
kylesmom84
posted on January 16th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Steve Jobs I have always admired you for your inovative products. I’m not a laptop person,so…when will you update your PC’s? Thank you for starting the race for toxic free products. Good News! kylesmom84
8 Ways to Practice Product Stewardship
posted on January 20th, 2008 at 2:28 am
[...] While a carbon offset is a nice gesture by the company to think of the environment, a change in manufacturing to remove harmful chemicals is probably more meaningful in the long run. Companies play a huge role in product stewardship, but [...]
macnut
posted on July 8th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
We need more green computer, green houses, green cars so that we and our offspring can enjoy earth a bit longer
Barbara
posted on March 5th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I was totally excited when I received an email from a friend saying that new laptops would not have mercury in them.
I had not even realized that mercury in laptops was a hazard. I was more concerned about the fire retardants that I was exposed to.
After glancing briefly at the website I now wonder: how will removing mercury help if we are going to be exposed to lead ? Is this new? What were the cases made from before and is the mercury still in the laptop just cloaked by the lead case?
Is it safe?
I would like to know more about this!
From my understanding no level of lead is safe in the body.
I personally don’t feel terribly threatened as I use Activate Liquid Zeolite as a daily detox to remove lead, mercury and other heavy metals and chemical toxins from my body. But not everyone does..yet!
I just checked the comments and they are all from 2008!
Perhaps I should be called Rip Van Winkle instead?
Barbara
melissa
posted on March 13th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
hi just wondering does mercury in laptops/computers etc have an affect on your health?