Phones I just checked and those are fine (at least the iPhone 6 which was the only one I checked is showing the direction they've decided on. Haven't checked previous ones).
Pretty sure the total transportation and Apple's own processing costs add up to more things being exhausted, whether it's resources or pollutants.
That is a lot of adhesive. It would have made more sense to do a battery held in with a screw considering they could have cut off slightly less aluminium on the unibody. Look at all of that empty space around the battery. Clearly could have just left some extra aluminium that can also contribute extra stability at the wrist-rest area (not really needed but an extra benefit). I don't see the point in trying to cut out more aluminium so you can recycle it to put it into other extrusions when the process of recycling the aluminium itself is quite resource consuming. That doesn't mean they have to do the even more resource straining cost of obtaining Al from the Earth but cutting out that little extra bit of aluminium doesn't make that much sense to me on a mass-production scale either.
Yuck.
The recycling is gonna happen anyway, so the only real issue is the costs. If I recall correctly, glass and aluminum is virtually infinitely recyclable, but plastic can degrade through the recycling process, but takes much longer to naturally degrade than aluminum.
Don't forget Apple has discontinued the plastic MacBoks and now only sells the aluminum unibody Pros and Airs.
I did smartphone repair for a while. And also worked in a computer repair shop.
Apple smartphones are infinitely easier to fix than Android ones in general and often times cheaper.
Or at least this was true for iPhone 5 and pre. Where LCD+Digitizers were generally only $30. Now, the 6 's LCD+Digitizer costs as much as the ones from Samsung etc.
But pre 2012, Apple smartphones and Apple laptops were some of the easiest computers to fix, upgrade, customize etc.
The pre 2012 Apple MBPs had just a backplate with 8 or so easy screws. Once you take off the entire piece of aluminum, you can pretty much remove and upgrade everything. Same with smartphones where the iPhone 4 and pre were super super easy to fix.
Cost is a pretty big deciding factor for a user when they break a device and have to decide whether to fix it or trash it.
This is where history kicks in; The iPhone 4 is probably the longest lasting and most repaired smartphone out there thanks to that durable stainless steel chassis, only beating the iPhone 4S because it is older. People are happy to replace the screen on a 4/4S several times, because it's affordable and worth it. The chassis protects the internal components and stands against wear and tear very well. Its durability allows it to never need replacement, unlike even the iPhone 5's housing, which can dent enough such that it doesn't fit a new screen.
Because Android phones typically have higher resolution screens (and quoted specs that easily marks how outdated a particular model is), they also cost more, and that gives less incentive for a user to want to repair it when they could upgrade to a phone with a newer design, more RAM, better chipset, higher resolution/display density etc.
I've seen the previous macbooks. In fact a bunch of stuff was replaceable. I'd be lying through my teeth if I said nothing was.
*sigh* such is the race for thinness. It doesn't even make sense when current computers and whatnot are thin enough. They're sacrificing stability which is something the general public doesn't realize, but in the end money determines it all.
The thing is, Apple is pretty much the trend-setter for these things, so expect to see less removable batteries and more aluminum, in both laptops and phones.
