But now they've got Liam the robot http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/apple-unveils-liam-iphone-recycling...
What will happen in reality is the phone will go into a industrial shredder and then the process of separating/recycling will begin. The robot seems like a marketing gimmick (they even have it a name), and will not be involved in 99% of the recycling process.
I really want to be proven wrong.
http://mashable.com/2016/03/21/apple-liam-recycling-robot/
And of course this is also a project to have a robot do the reverse--assemble iPhones.