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The jury might still be out on whether or not talking on cell phones is hazardous to your health, but it looks like one thing is for certain: Tossing your old model definitely isn't good for any of us.

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine found that discarded cell phones ooze all sorts of potentially dangerous substances, including lead, into the soil at the landfills and dumps where they wind up. This "leachate," as the researchers called it, was bad enough to qualify as hazardous waste.

When you consider that 700 million cell phones have already been discarded, combined with the fact that people are tossing more and more each day, that adds up to a lot of hazardous waste.

I know we live in a society where most things are considered disposable and upgrading is a way of life, but maybe it's time to reconsider that "new every two" mindset we've all been operating under.

Just because new models are available doesn't necessarily mean you need one. If your phone still works, consider hanging on to it as long as you can instead of trashing it in favor of the latest and greatest.

Nutrition & Healing Source: "Cell phones qualify as hazardous waste," Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com), 4/16/07

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