MEPs want beefed-up rules for common chargers and e-waste
Parliament will vote on a resolution on Thursday calling for measures to make common chargers for mobile devices a reality for consumers and reduce e-waste.
When what is good for the consumer coincides with what is good for the environment, we need to seize that opportunity, MEPs said in a plenary debate on 13 January.
Members expect concrete actions from the Commission, for instance, a standard for a common charger and measures for treating e-waste. Some also call for new phones and chargers to be sold separately.
In the 2014 Radio Equipment Directive, EU lawmakers called for a common charger to be developed and gave the Commission powers to pursue this via a delegated act.
The Commission's approach of “encouraging” industry to develop common chargers fell short of the co-legislators’ objectives. The voluntary agreements between different industry players have not yielded the desired results. However, some progress has been made, said the Commission: in 2009, there were more than 30 charging solutions, while today there are mainly three types of chargers.
According to estimates, around 50 million metric tons of e-waste is generated globally per year, with an average of more than 6 kg per person. The total e-waste generation in Europe in 2016 was 12.3 million metric tons, corresponding to 16.6 kg on average per inhabitant.
Procedure: Non-legislative resolution
Vote: Thursday, 30 January