The EU Proposes Tough Regulations on Smartphone Spare Part Availability
upstart writes:
Smartphone manufacturers supplying the EU will face stringent requirements to provide spare parts and ensure longer battery life, according to draft proposals published by Brussels on Wednesday.
The European Commission said that at least 15 different component parts should be made available for at least five years from the date of a smartphone's introduction to the market and that batteries should survive at least 500 full charges without deteriorating to below 83 per cent of their capacity.
[...] The draft regulations, which also cover tablets and standard mobile phones, suggest that if hardware is made more repairable and recyclable it would cut the energy consumption involved in its production and use by a third.
"Devices are often replaced prematurely by users and are, at the end of their useful life, not sufficiently reused or recycled, leading to a waste of resources," the document said.
[...] Smartphone makers argue that requiring more parts to be available simply increases the consumption of plastic.
Digital Europe, which represents the tech industry, said: "A potential overproduction, subsequent warehousing and destruction of spare parts will naturally result in wasted resources, reduced material efficiency and negative economic value ultimately resulting in higher costs for the consumer."
[...] "It will be a burden for the lesser brands and I'm sure we'll start to see limitations of smartphone models they will offer in the EU market," he said. "The net effect may very well be to make smartphones less affordable or wipe out the ultra-low cost category altogether."
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.