🌱 Are USB-C chargers mandatory in the EU?
Under the EU's Common Charger Directive, charging ports for mobile phones and other portable electronic devices have been standardized in the EU. This concretely means that, as of 28 December 2024, all new devices sold in the EU must support USB-C charging. Notably, however “devices without USB-C ports that are placed on the market for the first time before December 28th can still be sold” and circulated further within the EU.
🌱 What do the rules set out?
The directive on a “common charger” was originally approved by the EU’s Council in October 2022. Following this, the manufacturers of portable electronic devices were provided with a transition period to allow them to adjust their product designs. The rules currently apply to “anything the EU defines as radio equipment” and which is “rechargeable with a wired cable and can operate with a power delivery of up to 100 watts”. In practice, this includes digital cameras, earbuds, e-readers, headphones, headsets, keyboards, mice, mobile phones, portable navigation systems, portable speakers, tablets, and videogame consoles that are sold in the EU. The rules will also apply to laptops as of 28 April 2026.
🌱 What are the benefits?
It is estimated that “[d]iscarded and unused chargers account for about 11 000 tonnes of e-waste annually” in the EU. The new rules are anticipated to “cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU electronic waste every year”. According to the European Commission, the new rules will also help to “reduce the number of chargers [consumers] need to buy, […] and simplify [consumers’] everyday life”. As it is now possible to “buy new electronic devices without a charger” in the EU, the Commission also estimates that “approximately €250 million [will be saved] a year on unnecessary charger purchases”.
🌱 Has there been market resistance to the rules?
A decade ago, the European manufacturers of electronic consumer items “agreed on a single charging norm […] under a voluntary agreement with the European Commission”. Despite this, some manufacturers of electronic devices resisted the EU's move to standardize charging technologies and kept using “about half a dozen” alternative cable types. Apple, for example, who used its own “Lightning ports”, contested the approach and said in 2021 that the EU’s directive “stifles innovation”. In September 2023, Apple however started shipping out phones with a USB-C charging port. In the meantime, it has “transitioned to USB-C for its appliances” to comply with the directive.
Read our past column on the EU’s common charger here:
https://www.theewastecolumn.com/database/circular-design-ecodesign/the-eu-s-common-charger
Read more about USB-C charging in the EU here:
- https://www.theverge.com/24330106/usb-c-common-charger-directive-explained-europe
- https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/20/24325893/apple-usb-c-eu-iphone-se-iphone-14-iphone-14-plus