Results confirm that innovative but still small-scale recycling plants, modeling mechanical and chemical recycling options, achieve the lowest impacts today due to the combination of material and energy recovery, with a consequent decrease in the residual amount of waste disposed of in landfill. As seen in these estimates, in terms of impact reducing benefits related to nonrenewable energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, ASR waste may represent an important input for secondary material production in the coming years. Also, a sustainable design of future vehicles, characterized by a reduction in the number of different materials employed and a growth of nonferrous metal use, will lead to greater economic and technical advantages for the mechanical separation activities followed by recycling processes.
Lastly, the outcomes point to the need to consider both a LCA and ecodesign approaches for decision makers in waste management strategies, in order to properly handle factors which may affect future development or help organize a suitable exploitation of different treatment practices.