Tangle of cables creates headaches and electronic waste, warn senators
The US could implement a law similar to the EU’s universal charger mandate if a trio of Senate Democrats get their way. In a letter [PDF] to Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, two of Massachusetts’ senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with Bernie Sanders (I-VT), say a proliferation of charging standards has created a messy situation for consumers, as well as being an environmental risk.
« As specialized chargers become obsolete… or as consumers change the brand of phone or device that they use, their outdated chargers are usually just thrown away », the senators wrote. The three cite statistics from the European Commission, which reported in 2021 that discarded and unused chargers create more than 11,000 tons of e-waste annually. Consumers, the senators argued, are also negatively affected. The same EC report cited above found that the average consumer owns three mobile phone chargers, but despite this some 40 percent reported occasions of being unable to charge their device due to not having the right cable.
