EU unveils plan to make single charger for all portable devices a must to cut E-waste

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<strong>In a far-reaching decision which could impact both manufacturers and users, the European Commission which is the executive arm of the European Union, has made public plans to make it mandatory for manufacturers of smartphones and other electronic goods to have a common USB-C charging port on their devices. This will greatly reduce the quantum of e-waste generated due to multiple chargers for varied devices.</strong></p>
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Besides the phones, the rules will also be applicable to other devices including headphones, tablets, video game consoles, portable speakers and cameras. Apart from this it also planned to enforce manufacturers to make their fast-charging standards interoperable while providing information to customers about what charging standards their device supports.</p>
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The proposal envisages that customers will be able to buy new devices without an included charger.</p>
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Commenting on this the European Commission for Internal Market, Thierry Breton said: “Chargers power all our most essential electronic devices. With more and more devices, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or not necessary. We are putting an end to that. With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics – an important step to increase convenience and reduce waste.”</p>
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The proposed plan encompasses only devices charged with wires and not wireless ones. Clarifying this a Commission spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that a USB-C port is only mandatory for devices that charge using a cable. But, if a device charges exclusively via wireless, like Apple’s rumoured portless iPhone, there’d be no requirement for a USB-C charging port.</p>
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Apple is most likely to be affected the most by this proposal as it continues to use its proprietary Lightning connector rather than the USB-C connector adopted by most of its competitors.</p>
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The entire exercise is to bring down electronic waste by enabling people to re-use existing chargers and cables when they buy new electronics. The EC Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said: “European consumers were frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers. We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger.”</p>
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While the present proposal focuses on the charging port on the device end, the Commission hopes to ensure “full interoperability” on both ends of the cable. In a review to be launched later this year, the power supply end will be addressed.</p>