The EU’s new universal charger policy claims to tackle e-waste — will it? - The Verge

To reduce e-waste, the European Union wants to make USB-C the universal charger for mobile phones and other devices. But there are a lot of factors that will determine how successful the policy is at cutting down trash.

Slashing e-waste was a major driver in European Union lawmakers’ proposal yesterday to mandate a universal charger for mobile phones and other devices. But there are still a lot of other factors that have to come together for the measure to make a meaningful difference in the world’s e-waste problem.

Piled together, unused and discarded chargers add up to about 11,000 metric tons of e-waste in Europe annually, according to the European Parliament. They’re hoping to shrink that pile by eliminating the need for different chargers for different devices — so in just a couple years, most new mobile phones will likely need to come with a USB-C charging port to be sold in the EU. Making the switch to USB-C will ultimately help consumers save up to 250 million euros a year “on unnecessary charger purchases,” the EU says.

The move isn’t expected to make a huge dent in the massive amount of e-waste piling up around the world, experts tell The Verge. Still, the decision might have a more symbolic significance. It sets an example of how tougher regulations can force Big Tech to change wasteful habits.

“It’s an important step, but it’s definitely not solving the e-waste problem,” says Ruediger Kuehr, head of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research office in Bonn, Germany, and manager of the Sustainable Cycles Programme (SCYCLE).

Part of the problem is the sheer magnitude of devices that ultimately become e-waste, of which chargers make up a small fraction. “[11,000 metric tons] might sound like a lot, but it’s very tiny,” says Josh Lepawsky, a professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland who researches e-waste. “In terms of this being presented as a solution — even a partial solution to e-waste — I think is a stretch,” Lepawsky says.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/8/23159808/universal-charger-e-waste-european-union-eu-usb-c-apple

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