Getty PicturesThe UK authorities is contemplating whether or not to require all new digital gadgets to make use of the identical kind of charging cable.
A name for proof launched in October is asking for views on the advantages of utilizing a specific charging cable – reminiscent of USB-C, which is utilized by many fashionable gadgets.
It comes after the European Union handed a regulation on a typical charging cable in 2022, which companies should undertake by December.
The UK authorities mentioned on the time it was not contemplating comparable guidelines.
The EU’s regulation goals to chop digital waste by requiring small to medium digital system producers to make use of USB-C chargers.
Apple criticised the choice, however finally ditched its proprietary lightning charging cables for iPhones in 2023.
Digital items, from cell phones to e-readers and headphones, nonetheless range of their charging port and cable necessities.
Following the EU’s regulation, many gadgets now use USB-C charging cables, though some nonetheless require different cables reminiscent of micro-USB.
Apple launched its personal proprietary lightning connectors with the iPhone 5 in 2012.
However after greater than a decade of use it was phased out and changed with USB-C ports in newer variations of its handsets, beginning with the iPhone 15 final September.
Shopper teams have often pointed to the variety of totally different cables wanted and discarded based mostly on the various choices for connectors on gadgets as a supply of e-waste.
Supplies Focus, a charity encouraging the reuse and recycling of electricals, has been encouraging folks to recycle outdated cables to satisfy rising demand for his or her copper contents.
Analysis by its Recycle Your Electricals marketing campaign advised the UK had greater than 600 million unused or discarded cables.
Nevertheless, some have beforehand warned that the EU’s directive will result in an increase in discarded lightning cables in years to come back.
