Politicians back regulation that will force smartphone makers to use just one type of charger

Good news—your junk drawer’s about to get a lot less cluttered. 

That is, of course, if you live in Europe, as Members of the European Parliament (MEP) have voted overwhelmingly in favor of new regulation that will require smartphone makers to use just one type of charger by 2017. 

The law was drafted to help consumers reduce the amount of electronic waste they collect with the various devices they’ve come to acquire over the years.

“This serves the interests both of consumers and the environment,” said MEP Barbara Weiler in a statement. “It will put an end to charger clutter and 51,000 tons of electronic waste annually.”

European Member States will have until 2016 to translate the regulation into national laws. Smartphone manufacturers will then have one year to switch to a new design. This is by far the most definitive step the Parliament has taken to address the matter of electronic waste — the actual process of getting smartphone makers to agree to a common design was an initiative first taken on in 2009.

At the moment, the design being favored uses a Micro USB connector, a format already in use with many handsets and devices. 

Obviously, the biggest name to be impacted by this regulation would be Apple, which uses proprietary power ports to charge its devices. While there hasn’t been a formal response from the company on news of the law’s backing, it should be noted that Apple was one of the original cosigners of the agreement Europe reached with manufacturers to produce the chargers, suggesting the company will likely be on board with the new rules.

The universal charger regulation is still in draft form and must be approved by Europe’s council of ministers next. This body has already given an informal backing to the law, which suggests it’s likely to win final approval rather quickly.

Story via bbc.com