Old cell phones and other electrical goods which end up as poorly disposed of e-waste are a major threat to human health, according to a new report.

Ratatat are saying no to fans who want to use their old cell phones in order to record their live gigs. The electro rock duo who are currently touring North America have told the Edmonton Sun newspaper that they have been lenient in the past about fans using old cell phones to record their live gigs, which then invariably end up posted on the internet on such sites as YouTube in very poor quality, but have now changed their minds and want the practice stopped altogether.

Those who bemoan the lack of ways to power up their old cell phone could be in for a surprise. New research is looking into the possibility of powering up used cell phones with bacteria. All living things give off energy and scientists at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory and England’s University of East Anglia, who have been studying a particular variety of bacteria, believe they have found a way to harness the energy that those bacteria are giving off.