Editorial | Adopt EU charger/USB standard

Many of the manufacturers of small and medium-sized electronic devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, will whinge and complain about the European Union’s (EU) mandate that they standardise the USB charging ports on their products. They will claim that the move will stifle innovation.

Such fears are exaggerated. Moreover, the decision is good for consumers and the environment, including in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Indeed, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the grouping of 15 regional states, should formally adopt the EU standards, even if only to signal to technology firms that their bad habits are noted and will no longer be tolerated in the region.

Like consumers of e-devices across the world, those in Jamaica and the rest of the region appreciate full well the problems of owning multiple devices, such as phones, earbuds, e-readers, consoles, each coming with different, rather than standard ports. Most people have stories of drawers bulging with chargers and cables for devices that no longer work. Each replacement device comes with a new charger.

While consumers may not think of it this way, the charger in that package, when they have workable ones that have been forced into idleness – or ones that cannot work with the new mouse or mobile speakers – represents a forced purchase by the buyer. Often, the unused devices are dumped, contributing to the 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste that the United Nations (UN) said the world generated in 2019.

STANDARDISE PRODUCT

Under the EU rules agreed on Tuesday, manufacturers of these handheld devices will, by the end of 2024, have to standardise their product with C-type USB/charging ports, the latest and increasingly popular interface for these products. The regulation will come into force for laptops in 2026. Manufacturers will also have to tweak devices that allow fast-charging so that devices are charged at the same speed with any compatible charger.

Importantly, too, device manufacturers will no longer be allowed to automatically sell chargers with the e-devices. The EU estimates that the decision will save consumers in the 27-country bloc €250 million in unnecessary charger purchases and prevent 11,000 tonnes a year in e-waste from chargers alone.

There are no compatible figures for the Caribbean, especially with respect to how much money owners of electronic devices would keep in their pockets, if they are not forced to pay for new chargers, which they don’t need, every time they upgrade their phones or replace other devices that go bad. However, according to UN estimates, the Caribbean generated about 100,000 tonnes of e-waste in 2019, of which 18,000 tonnes came from Jamaica.

A mere 17 per cent of the world’s e-waste was collected and recycled. Very little of that recycling happened in the Caribbean, where policies for the recycling of any kind of waste are, at best, skimpy. The world faces a double whammy on this score.

END UP IN LANDFILLS

First, no or little recycling means, by the UN’s estimates, that around US$57 billion of valuable minerals, such as gold, silver, platinum, that remain in devices that are no longer being used. These products may end up in landfills.

The obvious follow-on is that more minerals are mined to help satiate the world’s ever-increasing appetite for tech devices, which then accumulates more e-waste. Indeed, e-waste, having increased by 19 per cent in the five years to 2019, was projected to grow by more than two million tonnes a year, to reach over 74 million tonnes by 2030. It is estimated that the global e-waste production will reach 120 million tonnes a year by 2050 if current trends continue.

In the past, EU regulatory standards for technology companies have been embraced by the rest of the world. It would be sensible if it happens again in this case. But the Caribbean should not wait for the trickle-down effect – that is, the Caribbean ought not to hang around passively until the tech manufacturers decide if it makes economic sense to apply to this region the standards required by Europe. CARICOM’s technology ministers and the region’s standards agencies should immediately declare their adoption of the EU’s regulation, to be enforced on the same timelines. That will save the region’s consumers money.

At the same time, at least in the case of Jamaica, the EU mandate should put back on the agenda the need for a robust policy on recycling, with a special emphasis on e-waste, much of which poses serious health hazards for citizens.