We propose that the EU require all small electronic equipment to use the same standard charger, for example a mini-USB plug. The number of electronic gadgets keeps on growing. Your average person will quite frequently have at least a cell phone, an mp3 player, a digital camera, possibly a PDA, a GPS navigator, wireless computer equipment such as mice and keyboard, car handsfree devices, and numerous other small electronic devices that all, in practice, have their own charger. In your average family it is quite common for each member to have their own gadgets, which only worsens the problem. Furthermore, it is in the nature of these products to go obsolete quickly, and replacing the product will generally mean replacing the charger as well. Not to mention the simple cable mess any vaguely tech-savvy person has to live with. This is, environmentally speaking, very wasteful and inefficient. Adopting a universal standard would mean products could be sold without chargers, and every home would only need a handful of chargers for all their equipment rather than the current 1:1 ratio. Each charger would be used until it breaks, not until the next cool gadget comes along. Packaging and transport costs are reduced, since in many cases the packages are only as large as they are due to bulky chargers (cell phones especially). Also, many products that historically rely on environmentally unfriendly and wasteful batteries (remote controls, for example), could switch to rechargable batteries and sport a mini-usb socket for charging. A universal standard should be required. Not only is this the environmentally obvious answer, but it would also surely be welcomed with open arms in most homes, and by for example frequent travellers, who have to carry different chargers and possible adapters for all their portable gadgets. There is simply no good reason for the current mess, and it is environmentally reckless not to adopt a standard. China has decided to enforce the mini-usb on all cell phones, and we demand the EU follow this wise example and furthermore, expand it to encompass all suitably small elecronic devices.

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