The European Council estimates that 250 million euros are wasted every year in the EU on unnecessary chargers, and unused or discarded cables produce over 11,000 tonnes of waste every year.
This agreement puts Apple’s back to the wall in terms of marketing its products in Europe, and puts an end to years of resistance from the industry. It also rejects Apple’s objections that such regulation would hamper innovation and harm consumers.
But this decision, which applies only to devices using wired charging, comes at a time when wireless chargers are booming. The European Union will soon have to get up to speed.
