Apple u-turn as Mac maker rejoins EPEAT

 

Apple has rejoined an environmental ratings scheme 7 days after quitting the programme. The firm published a letter saying it had realised the move had been a "mistake" shortly after many of is customers had complained.

The u-turn follows an announcement by San Francisco city officials who planned to ban local agencies from buying Apple Mac computers, at the time they hoped Apple would reconsider. Apples helped to set up the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registery in 2006, it is designed to identify which electronic devices pose the least risk towards the environment.

Apple's decision to leave followed the release of the new laptop which was hard to disassemble and recycle, meaning the device would have been very unlikely to have secured the entire scheme's top rating.