But the net policy effect of electric cars is to reduce the number of cars on the road. Those things are expensive and quite rare. They require a lot o Obviously. Because there is no need for a policy to force people to use things that are cheaper and plentiful.

If you want to argue there will be less smartphones -> less waste that seems reasonable. Some person on a tight budget drops it in water and it fizzles because water gets in the the battery maybe. Can't afford to replace it. They learn to live without a phone.

But it isn't going to cause less waste with the same utility. The market is much better than the EU at sniffing out the maximum benefit for minimum resources. Less waste is almost always moire profitable.