The universal charger for smartphones, tablets, digital cameras and a range of related electronics is one step closer. The European Parliament is ready for negotiations with the Member States and wants the unit charger on the market by the end of 2026.
In addition to smartphones, tablets and cameras, this includes headphones, portable speakers and video game consoles. As far as parliament is concerned, laptops must also be added. For all those devices, the USB type C will become the new standard, regardless of the manufacturer.
Exceptions will soon only be allowed for devices that are too small for a USB port, such as smart watches, health trackers and other sports equipment. The measure is intended to reduce the mountain of electronic waste by 11,000 to 13,000 tons annually and save the consumer capital. It now gets half a billion chargers for portable equipment on its roof every year. Soon there will be one or two for all the devices he has in his house.
Smart manufacturers
Parliament wants the Member States to require their electronics manufacturers to clearly indicate on the packaging whether the device they offer includes a charger or not. This is to prevent smart manufacturers from continuing to split unnecessary material in the stomach of their customers. Parliament has been asking for a universal charger for ten years now; the industry has succeeded in causing delays time and again with intensive lobbying.
Initiator Toine Manders – then VVD, now CDA – speaks on Twitter of ‘a good start’, but continues to regret that the dawdling with the harmonization of wireless chargers continues. “We have to shape the future, not the past,” he responds.
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