Review of Italian experience on automotive shredder residue characterization and management

Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR) can be classified as either hazardous or non hazardous waste. However both the strict regulation concerning landfills and the EU targets related to End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) Recovery and Recycling rate to achieve by 2015 (Directive 2000/53/EC), will limit current landfilling practice and will impose an increased efficiency of ELVs valorization. The present paper considers the ELVs context in Italy, taking into account ASRs physic-chemical features and current processing practice, focusing on the enhancement of secondary materials recovery. The application in waste-to-energy plants, cement kilns or metallurgical processes is also analyzed, with a particular attention to the possible connected environmental impacts. Pyrolysis and gasification are considered as emerging technologies although the sole use of ASR is debatable; its mixing with other waste streams is gradually being applied in commercial processes. The environmental impacts of the processes are acceptable, but more supporting data are needed and the advantage over (co-)incineration remains to be proven.