Apple produces a lot of electronics, unlike a pop can something like an iPhone is not the easiest thing to melt down and turn into something new. Apple wants to go green by allowing the recycling of your devices when you are done with them.
“Introduced onstage in a peppy video, “Liam” the robot — more specifically a robotic arm — was specifically developed by Apple engineers to pick apart iPhone and other gadgets, tearing the devices down into discreet modules. These parts, like an iPhone screen or logic board, can then be broken down further to recover materials for reintroduction into the global supply. ”