A universal charger for smartphones and tablets will be the norm in the next few years, thanks to a new standard published this week.

The International Electrotechnical Commission, which defines performance for all electrical, electronic and related technologies, has published the standard for a universal charger in a bid to eliminate the growing waste from the mobile accessories.

All the top handset manufacturers have signed onto the Universal Charging Solution, or USC, standard, including Apple, Research in Motion, Huawei, LG, Qualcomm, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, among others. The new standard specifies the charger, connector and plug, as well as interoperability with other devices and how it impacts the environment.

The new standard is based on existing Micro-USB specifications, and is intended for smartphones as well as tablets.

“We all have drawers full of chargers that became obsolete as soon as we buy a new phone,” said Ronnie Amit, the IEC’s general secretary and chief executive. “Today, we have a truly operational global standard that will allow the industry to end this waste and significantly reduce environmental impact.”

By standardizing phone chargers, companies will save on lower production costs, which lead to more energy-efficient chargers, and therefore, reduced greenhouse gas emissions. There are over 51,000 tons of redundant chargers manufactured each year, according to the GSM Associations, or GSMA, an industry trade group.

Although widespread support exists, the format remains voluntary, so manufacturers can still produce incompatible chargers.

Nonetheless, most handsets will come with the new charger. Earlier this week, Motorola announced that all its chargers are compatible with the standard, while Nokia said some of its devices were already switched over, with the remaining devices migrated in 2011.

It is also likely that the standard will extent to laptops, netbooks and other low-power consumer electronics.