The UK government is looking into adopting a requirement for all new electronic devises to have the same charging cable style, a USB-C.

Currently, electronic devices, including phones, laptops, and tablets, are all able to have different charging portal shapes and chords, meaning that their charging ability is not interoperable with different brands and models.

The consideration of the UK government to adopt a universal charging cable style comes after the EU passed a law requiring all new electronics to use a common charging cable, the USB-C, which companies must adopt by December this year.

At the time the EU adopted this legislation, back in 2022, the UK said it was not considering similar legislation.

Apple, which introduced its own exclusive phone charging port for its smart phone starting with its iPhone 5 model, critisied the move, though ultimately it relented with its newer models, starting from the iPhone 15.

Some older devices will still use a lighting cable, designed by Apple, or a micro USB instead of the now widely adopted USB-C.

The move to lesson the number of cables people need to purchase to charge their devices, is in an effort to decrease the overall amount of e-waste people produce each year.

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Enforcing interoperability between devices would lessen the number of individual charging cables which can significantly decrease the amount of wires discarded each year. It would also mean customers could switch between brands without needing to purchase new charging cables.

The UK is one the world’s biggest contributors to e-waste, and research from Recycle Your Electricals shows that more than 600 million cables go unused or discarded in the UK.

However, as older models of devices still use different charging cables, the amount of discarded cables is unlikely to decrease in the following years.