Portable electronic devices have invaded our daily lives. They are found in every room of the house and for all uses. With them, you have to count their countless chargers. To each brand and to each device, its charger.
There is something to go crazy, when you want to recharge your phone and you do not find THE right cable, whether at home, at work or at friends.
But don’t worry, this puzzle will soon be history! The European Union wants to make the universal charger mandatory for many portable electronic devices. A project that is not new, since it was launched in 2009. At the time, it was even highly contested.
Which devices will be affected? From when? What impacts for consumers and the environment ? We explain everything in the rest of this article.
Any good news for the wallet?
Yes! Simply because this directive will allow Europeans to use a single charger for all portable electronic devices. Every year, the European Commission estimates that 2.4 billion euros are spent by smartphone owners on the purchase of new chargers, due to incompatibility.
By 2024, no less than 250 million euros per year could be saved. Good news, especially when you know that an Apple charging cable is on average sold between 20 and 40€. To this can be added the purchase of a power adapter. The question is how much the brand will decide to sell its new chargers.
A reduction of electronic waste
Every year in Europe, 420 million electronic devices are sold. We can imagine that so many chargers are also sold.
The numbers are staggering. With the universal charger, no more cables piling up in our drawers not knowing what to do with them.
In addition to simplifying users' lives, the universal charger will act concretely on the amount of waste. Today, it is estimated that approximately 11,000 tonnes of e-waste are disposed of or unused. This is a significant number that was long overdue.
«On average, a consumer has three chargers, but only uses two regularly»
Another good news is that manufacturers will have to abandon the loading block (in other words the power adapter). It will be sold separately as an option. Consumers can decide for themselves whether they need it or not. They will all be compatible with all chargers.
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Dipli covers and simplifies all stages with a single ambition: to become the global player of reference on the supply chain of second-hand electronic products.