The EU has recently moved to make a standard charging port for new electronics; the UK government is considering following its lead. This consideration follows another consultation process that was launched recently to assess stakeholders’ views on the potential advantages that may accrue from using a single charging port, that is, the ubiquitous USB Type-C.
In 2022, the EU passed a law forcing small to medium producers of electronic devices to use USB-C chargers to help minimize the production of e-waste. However, Apple had finally agreed to dump the proprietary Lightning cables for iPhones and adopt the USB-C connectors in 2023, following the new standards.
Consumer advocates have always spoken of the problem of multiple charging cables, where having different possibilities of connectors considerably raises the amount of electronic waste. A campaign by Materials Focus unveiled some facts that the UK has dumped over 600 million cables that remain unused or discarded. The charity seeks to have people recycle old cables, explaining the fact that copper in cables is in high demand.
Some of the industry experts, though, have pointed out that in the next few years, there could be a problem of discarded Lightning cables in the market, following the EU’s decision.
