Daisy Robot iPhone loaderSource: Apple

What you need to know

  • Apple is reportedly suing GEEP Canada.
  • The firm was hired to help recycle iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
  • But Apple claims the company sold them on instead.

Apple makes a huge deal about its environmental efforts and recycling a load of iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches is part of that. It uses outside companies to help out, with one of those being GEEP Canada – a company it is now suing.

According to a report by The Logic and AppleInsider, the company stole 100,000 devices and then sold them on instead of recycling them.

Amazingly, GEEP Canada doesn't say that the thefts didn't happen. Instead, in a countersuit, the company claims that three employees went rogue and carried out the scam without the company's bosses knowing. However, Apple says those three employees were actually senior managers themselves. There were around 100,000 iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches involved and it seems unlikely three workers would have been able to pull this off if they weren't well connected.

Apple's suit states that the company shipped 531,966 iPhones to Geep Canada for recycling between January 2015 and December 2017, along with 25,673 iPads, and 19,277 Apple Watches. Apple then audited Geep's warehouse and, according to The Logic, learned that some of its devices were being stored away from those of other firms.

The original suit was first filed in January 2020 although it has only just been reported on. GEEP Canada, for its part, says that it wants the three employees in question to pay it damages because of the loss of the Apple contract.