The picture from above shows my personal “riches” that I’m about to recycle this weekend. For the last 5 years, it seems that I have managed to “collect” around 8 different chargers. And I’m sure that the average person has had at least 3 chargers since mobile phones have appeared. But this could change starting with 2017, as the European Union has voted in favor of a draft legislation which lists among the “essential requirements” of electrical devices approved by the EU a compatibility with “universal” chargers. According to a German MEP, this move will eliminate 51,000 tonnes of electronic waste: The draft law was approved by an overwhelming majority of 550 votes to 12. It stipulates that the ability to work with common chargers will be an essential requirement for the making companies. Apparently, there’s already a proposed design for the upcoming universal charger and, as expected, it uses a Micro USB connector. The majority of mobile manufacturers, like Samsung and Nokia already use one, so the shift to an universal charger shouldn’t be that tedious. Another obvious advantage of an universal mobile phone charger standard will be the fact that whenever your phone battery will go flat and you won’t be nowhere near home, you will just ask your friend or somebody else to help you out. And if we’ll see this turn into reality by 2017, then the move will extend to other parts of the world. However, there are voices which disagree with the move – Paul Nuttall, Ukip’s deputy leader, said the following: I wonder if mister Nuttall currently owns an iPhone, because Apple’s charger and cables are known to be different than the rest. At the moment, according to estimates, there are around 30 different types of charger on the market, but manufacturers have two years at their disposal to get ready for the new restriction.
