Since just over two years ago, when the European Parliament approved the law, this day has been expected to arrive. And the deadline has been met. Starting today, December 28, as the law states, there will be “a single charger for a variety of newly acquired small and medium-sized portable electronic devices, which must have an integrated USB type C port. Regardless of the manufacturer, The obligation applies to all mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, e-books, keyboards and mice, as well as video game consoles, speakers, navigation systems and laptops.”
The law has several objectives. The first of them is to standardize the charging system to reduce electronic waste. “Thanks to the greater reuse of chargers promoted by the new regulations – explains the law -, Consumers will save up to 250 million euros a year on unnecessary purchases of these devices. The chargers that end up in the rubbish bin or in a drawer are equivalent to around 11,000 tonnes of electronic waste annually in the EU.”
Although it is increasingly common for mobile phones to come without a charger in the box. The exceptions to this “rule” have to do with high-power chargers that allow fast charging. With this in mind, devices that include fast charging greater than 15W (most of them), will have to “Ensure that any additional charging protocols allow full functionality of the USB Power Delivery protocol (…) regardless of the charging device used.” In fact, a related measure requires manufacturers to put a label on the box indicating whether or not the product includes a charger.
Fortunately, most manufacturers have already anticipated this regulation, the most striking case has been Apple, which has had to adapt all its products due to the use of the lightning port. Obviously, those devices that have another type of charging portwill continue to function normallyonly new ones will change their charging connection.