Apple has pledged to provide its customers with a completely free recycling programme as the company expanded on its environmental message in time for Earth Day 2014, detailing how it has reduced use of raw materials and eliminated harmful toxins from the manufacturing process.

Apple will buy old equipment from you if it can still be used, providing Apple Store gift cards in exchange for the unwanted tech, but now if your gadgets can't be saved or reused, Apple will instead recycle them for free. The programme isn't limited to Apple computers or laptops, either; the company will also recycle Windows PCs and notebooks too, with devices from other manufacturers already making up 90 per cent of Apple's existing recycling programme.

In addition to a renewed focus on recycling, Apple CEO Tim Cook outlined how the company has reduced its greenhouse emissions, energy footprint and reliance on fossil fuels in time for Earth Day 2014. A video entitled "Better", narrated by Cook, was posted to Apple's recently-refreshed Environment microsite , explained that the company is looking to become 100% powered by renewable energy in the future. Data centres in North Carolina, Oregon, Nevada and California already run entirely upon renewable energy, while Apple offices around the world are 94 per cent powered by renewable energy - up by 35% from 2010.

According to Apple, the latest Mac Pro uses 74 per cent less aluminium and steel than the previous tower design, while the current iMac uses 68 per cent fewer materials than the original model. It also uses 0.9w of electricity in sleep mode - 97 per cent less than the first iMac.

If you're looking to buy a new iPhone , iPad or MacBook Pro and have a current smartphone or laptop you could trade in for money off a new purchase, make sure to check Apple's recycling programme to see whether you could make a saving.