Where old cellphones go to die: your closet

We have all of our old cellphones (and PDAs, and digital cameras, and laptops, and MP3 players) stacked away in a closet here at Engadget HQ, just like 60% to 70% of the 100 million cellphones in the U.S. that end up being tossed aside when people go for the upgrade. The cellphone makers love it that people are always looking for the next new thing (and dude, we at Engadget admit that we are seriously a HUGE part of the problem), but only 5% of those 100 million phone are getting recycled are refurbished, with the rest (at least 25 million) ending up in a landfill somewhere. Just remember to cancel your service when you recycle your phone or you could be in for a nasty surprise.