From Campus Labs to Hall Road: Where Punjab's Old Electronics Go

The Equipment We Stop Seeing

Behind the visible progress of digital education lies a less visible issue: equipment that has reached the end of its useful life, in many respects. A printer or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) may be retired by an office. So, an outdated desktop may be replaced by a university computer lab, in actual application. The new equipment is, indeed, easy to detect. The old equipment can remain in storage for years. For students working with computers, this raises an important question: who is responsible for electronic devices after they stop working?

Electronic waste, or e-waste, includes discarded electrical and electronic equipment and its components. Punjab's universities, colleges and public offices use computers, networking devices, batteries and other electronics to deliver vital services. Their disposal decisions therefore matter beyond campus and office boundaries, and a clear process can also save money, as functioning components may be reused and repairable equipment may remain in service. Institutions can also avoid unnecessary storage costs by disposing of devices that no longer serve a useful purpose. These benefits rest on careful assessment rather than indiscriminate dismantling.

Why Old Devices Remain in Storage

Where records are incomplete, or responsibilities are unclear, unused devices can pile up. This is a potential management problem rather than proof that every institution follows the same practice. Institutions can't always discard equipment as soon as it becomes unusable. In turn, public-sector assets may, by design, need inventory checks, approval, and formal disposal procedures.

Another hurdle is related to data security. Institutional teams may hesitate to release devices if they're unsure whether stored data can be recovered, on the whole. Computers may contain student records, examination materials, financial records or employee information. In turn, simply deleting files isn't always enough, in many respects. Information security alongside environmental safety must, therefore, be tackled by a disposal plan.

The scale of the wider obstacle is significant, and as well, the total amount reached 62 million tonnes that year, in actual application. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, Pakistan generated 556 million kilograms of e-waste in 2022. At the same time, only 22.3 percent was recorded as formally collected and recycled. These are national and global assessments, not measurements of waste created specifically by Punjab's universities.

From Repair Markets to Environmental Risk

Lahore's Hall Road is widely associated with electronics trading and repair. Repair markets can expand the useful life of equipment by supplying reusable parts and affordable repair services. Yet a device's journey after institutional disposal is not necessarily traceable. A repair market should not automatically be portrayed as a hazardous dismantling site.

The Global E-waste Monitor identifies Lahore, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala among Pakistan's secondary e-waste markets. Informal collection and recovery can support livelihoods, but unsafe processing presents risks. Burning insulated cables, breaking hazardous components, or employing uncontrolled chemical extraction can release harmful substances. These practices shouldn't be attributed to every trader or workshop without site-specific proof.

The World Health Organization warns that unsafe e-waste recycling can expose workers and nearby communities to substances such as lead and mercury. Children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to some exposures. Batteries also require careful handling because damaged or short-circuited units may cause fires or chemical leaks. The fitting response is often safer collection and processing, not the blanket rejection of repair and reuse.

Turning Policy Work into Institutional Practice

Pertinent policy work has already started in Punjab. A draft report on devising standard operating procedures (SOPs) for e-waste management under the Punjab Resource Improvement and Digital Effectiveness (PRIDE) program is listed on the provincial Program Implementation Unit's website. The Punjab Clean Air Program (PCAP) also lists e-waste SOPs among its official documents. In fact, policy attention is shown by these references. But they don't establish that the same disposal rules are already mandatory for every university and office.

Institutions can manage e-waste more responsibly by taking a few basic steps. To start, they should maintain a digital inventory of their electronic equipment, with Computer Science students helping to develop a simple tracking system. Sensitive data should be securely erased by IT staff before devices are reused or discarded. Reusable parts should be separated from damaged batteries and other hazardous materials, which must be handled safely by trained personnel. Institutions should work with authorised recyclers and keep proper disposal records to make sure that old electronics are managed safely rather than becoming a source of pollution.

A Responsibility beyond the Upgrade

In my case, sustainable computing isn't only about buying energy-efficient devices or writing better software. It is also about planning for what happens when equipment can no longer serve its original purpose. Punjab's universities and offices can begin with consistent inventories, secure data handling, responsible reuse, and documented disposal. The principle is simple: the technology used to educate students and serve the public shouldn't leave an avoidable environmental burden behind.