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Waste mobile phones are a type of small-size e-wastes, and China has the largest number of these disposable phones. To better describe the material flows of waste mobile phones, it is essential to pay attention to the interprovincial movements from the collection sites to the disassembly plants. In this study, the generation of waste mobile phones at the provincial level in China is estimated. In addition, the disassembly capacity and distribution of waste mobile phones are further investigated, and the interprovincial flows of waste mobile phones are simulated under the current disassembly capacity using the minimum distance maximum receiving (MDMR) algorithm. Changes in the interprovincial flow characteristics are then analyzed under different optimized scenarios. The results show that the annual domestic generation of waste mobile phones is 148.76 million units, and the disassembly capacity of formal plants is 412.85 million units. The amount and disassembly capacity are unevenly distributed among provinces. Guangdong, Shandong, and Jiangsu are the top three generators of waste mobile phones, while Anhui, Sichuan, and Guangdong are the top three receivers. The flow from Shandong to Anhui is the largest, accounting for 7.58% of the total amount of waste mobile phones. Additionally, the minimum flow is from Xizang to Sichuan, accounting for 0.2%. In conclusion, the disassembly capacity needs to be optimized according to the distribution of waste mobile phones in each geographical region of China. To be specific, the disassembly capacity of northeast and northern China should be increased. In addition, the disassembly capacity of eastern and southern China can be appropriately reduced. Such an optimization scheme will not only reduce the distance of interprovincial movements but also balance the occupancy ratio of disassembly capacity in each geographical region. These modifications will meet the disassembly demand when the generation of waste mobile phones increases in the future. • The generation and disassembly capacity of waste mobile phones in China are obtained. • A MDMR model is built to simulate the interprovincial flows of waste mobile phones. • Anhui receives the largest number of waste mobile phones among disassembly provinces. • Scenario analysis is carried out to optimize the disassembly capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]