Not sure which recycled building materials deserve a place in your project? Start with the heavy, common ones: concrete, brick, steel and wood, and keep reuse in mind first.
This guide is part of our wider look at sustainable building, and it focuses on what happens to materials when a building is renovated, dismantled or demolished.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| C&D debris generated in the United States, 2014 | 534 million tons |
| Share of C&D debris generation from demolition | More than 90 percent |
| Building-related C&D materials, 1996 | 136 million tons |
| Building-related C&D materials, 2003 | Almost 170 million tons |
| Nonresidential share of 2003 building-related C&D materials | 61 percent |
These figures come from EPA’s page on construction and demolition materials. Estimates like these can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What counts as recycled building materials?
Recycled building materials start out as construction and demolition (C&D) materials. That is the debris generated when buildings, roads and bridges are built, renovated or demolished.
EPA lists these bulky, heavy items as common parts of that stream:
- Concrete
- Wood from buildings
- Asphalt from roads and roofing shingles
- Gypsum, the main component of drywall
- Metals, bricks, glass and plastics
- Salvaged building components such as doors, windows and plumbing fixtures
EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management approach treats certain C&D materials as commodities for new building projects. The aim is to avoid mining and processing virgin materials.
Why the volumes are so large
EPA’s report Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2014 Fact Sheet estimated that 534 million tons of C&D debris were generated in the United States in 2014. That was more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste.
Demolition represents more than 90 percent of that total, while construction represents less than 10 percent. The biggest pool of material sits in buildings that are coming down.
Earlier EPA studies counted building-related materials only. They put the total at 136 million tons in 1996 and almost 170 million tons by 2003, with nonresidential sources accounting for 61 percent of the 2003 amount. The 2014 estimate also covers roads and bridges, so the numbers are not a like-for-like trend.
Recycled materials you can use on site
Some of the simplest wins happen without leaving the job site. EPA gives these examples of commonly reused C&D materials and applications:
- Brick, concrete and masonry can be recycled on site as fill, subbase material or driveway bedding.
- Scrap wood can be chipped on site and used as mulch or groundcover.
- De-papered and crushed gypsum can be used, in moderate quantities, as a soil amendment.
- Excess wall insulation can be used in interior walls as noise-deadening material.
- Doors, hardware, appliances and fixtures are easy to remove and can be salvaged for donation or reuse.
EPA also points to money saved through avoided purchase and disposal costs. Onsite reuse additionally reduces transportation costs, according to the same page.
Why reuse and source reduction come before recycling
EPA gives source reduction the highest priority for addressing solid waste, because it prevents waste from being generated in the first place. Its examples for buildings include:
- Preserving existing buildings rather than constructing new ones
- Optimizing the size of new buildings
- Designing new buildings for adaptability so they last longer
- Using construction methods that allow disassembly and facilitate reuse of materials
When a building does have to come apart, EPA describes deconstruction as the careful dismantling of buildings to salvage components for reuse and recycling.
The Carbon Leadership Forum adds a useful caveat. Preparing previously used materials for reuse has an environmental impact, but it avoids many of the resource extraction and manufacturing impacts of building with newly manufactured products. For the wider carbon picture, see our guide to embodied carbon in buildings.
How reuse and recycling show up in carbon accounting
RMI’s August 2022 policy brief explains that there are three scenarios for how an individual building material ends its life:
- Landfilling or combustion
- Recycling
- Direct reuse
The brief notes that reuse and recycling through diversion from a landfill is not typically included in the life-cycle assessment boundary of the original building or material. It is treated as a separate life-cycle stage (D). You can read the full brief on RMI’s website.
Procurement rules are starting to touch this area. In December 2022, EPA issued an Interim Determination on “substantially lower” embodied carbon for four materials: cement/concrete, glass, asphalt and steel. It also identified minimally processed salvaged and reused materials as viable options for meeting Inflation Reduction Act low embodied carbon infrastructure goals, as stated on EPA’s page last updated January 16, 2025.
There is still a gap for reused products. As of the Carbon Leadership Forum’s 2026 report, there are no North American environmental product declarations (EPDs) for reuse construction products, which can exclude them from low-carbon procurement policies that require EPDs. The report proposes modeling guidance and presents initial results for reuse lumber, steel and brick, and you can find it on the Carbon Leadership Forum site.
Where to start on your project?
EPA says builders and design teams can divert C&D materials from disposal in four ways, which also make a handy order of attack:
- Reduce: design and purchase so less material and packaging is needed at all.
- Salvage and reuse: pull out doors, fixtures and other reusable parts before demolition.
- Recycle: send or process brick, concrete, wood and other materials into new uses.
- Buy used and recycled products: close the loop by specifying them.
If you are also weighing other ways to lower a building’s footprint, our guide to green roof benefits looks at a very different approach.
Frequently asked questions
What are recycled building materials?
Show answer
They are materials recovered from construction, renovation and demolition, such as concrete, wood, asphalt, gypsum, metals, bricks and glass, that are processed or reused in new building work. EPA describes these as C&D materials on its construction and demolition materials page.
Can brick and concrete be recycled on site?
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Yes. EPA says brick, concrete and masonry can be recycled on site as fill, subbase material or driveway bedding, which also helps reduce transportation costs.
Is reuse a lower-impact choice than recycling?
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EPA gives source reduction the highest priority, ahead of reuse and recycling once waste exists. The Carbon Leadership Forum notes that preparing materials for reuse still has an impact, but it avoids many extraction and manufacturing impacts of new products.
Do reused materials have EPDs?
Show answer
As of the Carbon Leadership Forum’s 2026 report, there are no North American EPDs for reuse construction products. Check the report page for any update before you rely on this.
