The days of desperately trying to find the right charger for your smartphone could be over, as European politicians have backed a regulation that could mean all phone makers have to use the 
same kind of charger.
Last Thursday MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new regulation, which aims to reduce electronic waste. The new regulation aims to have all consumers using the same phone charger in 2017.
MEP Barbara Weiler commented in a statement that “This serves the interests of both consumers and the environment. It will put an end to charger clutter and 51,000 tonnes of electronic waste annually.”
In order for it to be passed this draft law must be approved by Europe’s Council of Ministers. To the relief of many smartphone owners, the bill has already received informal approval and is likely to be passed in the next couple of years.
Trouble for smartphone manufacturers
Experts claim that getting some phone makers on board could be a slow process, and that consumers shouldn’t expect to see the benefits of the proposal for many years.
Talks to produce universal chargers began back in 2009, plus manufacturers will have one year to change over to a new, universal design. Considering the law will not be made official until 2016, many claim that makers will have plenty of time to adjust to the new designs.
The favoured design so far is a format that is used on many handsets and devices already – the Micro USB connector. One manufacturer who is yet to comment on the proposed regulation is Apple, whose gadgets require proprietary power parts. Despite this, the technology giant was one of the first signatories of the agreement.
