Case study on assessing the environmental impact of End-of-Life vehicle dismantling

For the development of sustainable products, it is essential to consider all phases of a product’s life cycle, including the manufacturing and use phase as well as the End-of-Life (EoL). To date, the focus of most life cycle assessments in the automotive industry has been on the production phase (cradle-to-gate). While assessments in the use phase are heavily dependent on the usage behavior and service life, scientific studies have paid little attention to the EoL. The consideration of a product’s entire life cycle can give valuable insights to create a more sustainable and circular value chain that offers both environmental and economic benefits. This paper presents the calculation and analysis of the effects of dismantling processes in the impact category global warming potential (carbon footprint) using the example of the German dismantling company LRP Autorecycling. The main results are the case study results, the challenges in the approach for data collection of manual dismantling processes and the investigation of different allocation methods, as well as the classification in the entire life cycle. A critical discussion on the methodological approach is presented as well as practical recommendations for assessing the carbon footprint for dismantling companies.