Apple rejoins environmental registry

Apple has rejoined an environmental ratings scheme a week after quitting the program. The firm published a letter on its site saying it had realized the move had been “a mistake” after many of its customers had complained.

The u-turn follows an announcement by San Francisco city officials that they planned to ban local agencies from buying Apple Mac computers saying at the time that they hoped Apple would reconsider.

Apple helped set up the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry in 2006. It is designed to identify which electronic devices pose the least risk to the environment.

In dropping out last month from the registry, Apple offered no explanation but speculation centered around its use of batteries on some MacBooks which are glued into the frame and thus are not easily recycled.