Have you got a draw full of obsolete mobile phone chargers? Every different brand of phone seems to have a different design of charger. But now the phone industry has tackled the problem.

From 2012, most manufacturers (with the notable exceptions of Apple and HTC) will adopt the micro-USB standard.

This is great for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Adopting a standard charger should half the number of chargers produced every year. Standardization should save carbon emissions as an estimated 51 tonnes of chargers won’t be necessary.

Economies of scale from manufacturing a single standard charger should mean savings in greenhouse gas emissions from the reduced production and transport costs. These carbon savings are estimated to be a staggering 13.6 million to 21.8 million tons of greenhouse gases every year.

For the consumer, there’s another advantage as well as the convenience of the new chargers. They’re likely to at least three times more efficient than existing models.

And as they’re likely to be used longer, manufacturers selling in the European Union are likely to save money. EU legislation makes manufacturers responsible for recycling old electrical equipment, so fewer chargers means less to recycle.

A win, win situation all round!

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