Google News: Plans To Include Recycled Material In All Hardware By 2022

Google is doubling down on sustainability and green design with a new ultimatum. The tech giant affirmed its plan Monday to incorporate recycled materials into all of its “Made By Google” hardware products by 2022. This is part of a broader move by the company to increase the sustainability of their operations.

“You have to really tinker in the lab for a while to make it work,” said Ana Corrales, the chief operating officer for Google hardware. “But rather than engineers being worried about that, because they have a timeline that they need to get a product out, I think it’s something that’s quite motivating to them.”

Speaking with Fast Company, Google confirmed that it has already begun using recycled plastic in its Chromecast streaming sticks and plastic bottles in the fabrics used on its Google Home products. Moving forward, it will start including recycled materials in products like the Pixelbook computers, Pixel phones, and the numerous accessories it produces. This initiative will also entail designing products going forwards that are simpler to deconstruct for parts at the end of their lifespan.

“Basically in every single point of the process and in every single product,” Corrales said. “We’re going to be asking these questions and making these decisions.”

In addition to this commitment, Google also plans make all of its shipments carbon neutral by 2020. It claims to have already reduced its carbon emission by 40 percent after switching from air shipments to cargo.

Google’s move towards sustainability follows in the footsteps of Apple and Samsung. Apple recently developed a robot that can disassemble old products for parts and Samsung has committed to incorporating sustainable materials into its packaging.