Recycling is almost fiction to most Pakistanis, and the wave of eco-awareness has only swept across a startlingly small percentage of our population. You’ll see several street corners here with a pile of trash that’s been set alight to dispose of; it’s a major health hazard, and it would be stating the obvious to point out how damaging it is to the environment.
Household electronics are one of the top few things that worry environmentalists because of the chemicals and toxins in them. But regular recycling that involves proper disposal won’t have much work to do in Pakistan because not many people throw away their old cellphones – why throw away what you can sell? Makes perfect sense. But then there are still some things that can’t be sold either because they have no market value or you’ve never gotten around to it. Why not donate them to charity, instead?
Mobilink, one of Pakistan’s biggest cell-phone networks, is willing to take them off your hands. They launched a handset recycling project as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative in early January this year that involves refurbishing old cell phones and accessories, and donating them to charity. The things beyond repair or reuse will be passed on to Wastebusters for proper disposal, which makes the programme even better.
Electronics are dangerous to the environment if disposed of improperly, and they should be used to the last possible moment. I’m all for upgrades and technological advancement, especially when it comes to cell phones — I certainly wouldn’t use an old cell phone unless I had absolutely no other choice. But some people don’t have a cell phone at all, and an old cell phone is better than no cell phone. If you’ve got some old phones and accessories lying around that you don’t use anymore, drop them off in the recycling bins at the designated customer support centers. As Mobilink puts it, “what is useless to you could bring connectivity to someone’s life.”
On a side note, another thing that I’ve seen is people ripping apart electronics like CRT TVs, VCRs, computers and even refrigerators. This happens in a few shops in the area behind the Quaid‘s Mausoleum in Saddar. From the fleeting sights I’ve seen of what goes on, they apparently rip the circuit board out and sell the innards, though I’m not at all certain of what they do exactly. Asking them one of these days is on my list of things to do!
