Now that Apple has released the 3G iPhone, it’s time to ask what the environmental fallout will look like.

In the past six days, Apple fans have succeeded in a mission that started with sidewalk campouts in some major cities: after waiting under the July elements, they were able to lay hands on a 3G iPhone, the fastest, smartest, prettiest piece of new technology on the market. Not bad for a recession.

In all of the excitement surrounding the launch, an increasingly green-savvy public has been asking about the environmental viability of the iPhone; what they find out may leave them crushed. As it turns out, while Apple has been working hard to reduce the toxicity of their personal computers — Greenpeace has singled out the MacBookAir for praise — that same effort has yet to extend to their smaller line of personal electronics. The previous generation of iPhone and the 3G both feature high amounts of polyvinyl chloride plastic and brominated flame retardants that are remarkable hard to get rid of after the service life of a phone, and it appears that any difference in between the two models from an environmental standpoint is purely incidental.

There is some good news for the consumers that spent hours (days?) camped out waiting for the new gadget: at least the packaging will be greener. In lieu of the packaging that Apple has used in the past (or worse still, the clear hard shells that some earlier iPods were issued in), they’ve decided to roll out potato starch packaging and are dumping plastics completely. This is bound to be a commercial hit — after all, Apple caters to a young, creative class that’s skewed heavily towards environmental activism — but also helps illuminate the little ways that companies will be able to pitch in in the future. And for that reason, your iPhone may not be quite so cutting edge as the box it comes in.

Read More:

Greenpeace Pans iPhone 3G (macnn)
New Apple iPhone 3G to Arrive in Green Packaging (TriplePundit)