This paper reports the results of a life‐cycle energy model of a pilot mobile phone “take‐back” scheme carried out by the Cellular Phones Take‐back Working Group of the European Trade Organisation for the Telecommunication and Professional Electronics Industry (ECTEL) in the United Kingdom (UK) and Sweden during 1997. Using data collected from the scheme, the model calculates a snapshot “energy balance” associated with mobile phone take‐back for a variety of phone types and take‐back scenarios in the year 1997. It also develops a time‐series model for the UK, describing the environmental implications of different take‐back scenarios in the future. Because of its emphasis on interactive, dynamic modeling techniques, the methodology developed for the life‐cycle model has the potential for wide application in regulatory and industrial decision making.