Which construction materials can be recycled or reused? Many common construction and demolition materials—including concrete, asphalt, wood, metals, brick, drywall, shingles, and fixtures—have a potential next use. Whether a specific load can actually be recovered depends on its condition, contamination, local facilities, and market demand. Reuse means keeping a component intact for another use; recycling processes material into products or other useful destinations.
Construction materials with reuse or recycling routes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies materials such as steel, wood products, drywall and plaster, brick and clay tile, asphalt shingles, concrete, and asphalt concrete in its national construction and demolition (C&D) estimates. Its guidance also covers metals, glass, plastics, salvaged building components, and land-clearing debris. These are possible routes, not a promise that every local facility accepts every material.
Concrete, brick, and masonry
Where components are sound and suitable, salvage them intact. Otherwise, crushed concrete, brick, and masonry may be used on-site as fill, subbase, or driveway bedding, or processed into aggregate and new products. The EPA reports aggregate as the leading next-use destination for concrete in its 2018 C&D data. EPA material-specific C&D data and its sustainable management guidance describe these routes.
Asphalt pavement and shingles
Processed asphalt concrete can be used in new asphalt mixtures; manufactured products were its dominant next-use destination in EPA’s 2018 material table. Asphalt shingles are included in the national C&D material scope, but landfill was their primary destination in that dataset. Some potential next use was reported, but local acceptance is not universal. Confirm a facility’s current requirements before separating or transporting either material.
Wood
Clean, usable cutoffs can serve as blocking, cripples, or lintels. Clean scrap may also be chipped for mulch or groundcover, and EPA lists engineered-wood products and compost among possible next-use routes. The destination depends on the wood’s condition and what local processors accept.
Metals
Steel, copper, brass, and other metals can be recycled. EPA describes metals as valuable commodities, but accepted grades and preparation requirements vary by recycler.
Drywall and gypsum
De-papered, crushed gypsum may be used in moderate quantities as a soil amendment. That technical route should not be confused with the most common observed destination: EPA’s 2018 data identify landfill as the primary destination for gypsum drywall.
Fixtures, doors, hardware, and appliances
Items that can be removed intact may be reused in the same project, donated, or used on another job. Salvaging before demolition can preserve components that would be damaged or mixed with debris during conventional demolition.
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EPA gives examples of reusing excess exterior-wall insulation in interior walls for sound reduction, remixing paint for garage or storage areas or primer, and returning packaging to suppliers for reuse. These options depend on product condition and applicable requirements. Land-clearing debris may also have a recovery route; check local outlets and rules for the material in question.
What the national C&D figures show—and what they do not
EPA’s latest material-specific national C&D dataset identified here covers 2018 and was published in 2020. It estimated 600.33 million U.S. tons of C&D debris generated that year. Of that, EPA reported 456.6 million tons directed to next use and 143.8 million tons sent to landfill. Aggregate and other aggregate destinations accounted for 313.1 million tons, while manufactured products accounted for 131.6 million tons. These are historical national estimates, not current local recycling rates.
EPA’s term “next use” is a reported intended destination that can include manufactured products, aggregate, fuel, compost and mulch, or soil amendment. It does not guarantee that every item became a final product. In the same 2018 dataset, demolition accounted for more than 90 percent of C&D generation, while construction accounted for less than 10 percent. See the EPA’s December 2020 2018 Fact Sheet for the historical estimates and categories.
| Material | EPA-reported leading 2018 destination | Possible route described in EPA guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete | Aggregate and other aggregate destinations | Crushed aggregate, fill, subbase, or driveway bedding |
| Asphalt concrete | Manufactured products | Use in new asphalt mixtures |
| Wood | Landfill | Reuse, engineered-wood products, mulch, or compost |
| Gypsum drywall | Landfill | Crushed gypsum soil amendment in moderate quantities |
| Brick and clay tile | Landfill | Crushed material for fill, subbase, or driveway bedding |
| Asphalt shingles | Landfill | Potential next use exists, but local acceptance must be confirmed |
The destinations in the table are EPA’s reported primary destinations for the 2018 dataset, not guarantees about current facilities or the route available to a particular project. A technically possible route can exist even when landfill was the dominant reported destination.
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How to choose a recovery route for a project
- Assess condition and contamination. Decide whether an item is intact and suitable for reuse, or whether processing is more realistic. Separate materials where needed and ask the recycler how it handles contamination and manages the material.
- Locate an outlet before demolition. Check nearby reuse organizations, processors, and markets before work starts. EPA advises identifying local reuse and recycling markets; wood, metals, concrete, asphalt, brick, and block are highly recoverable in many locations, but availability varies.
- Confirm acceptance and preparation rules. Ask whether the facility accepts the material in its actual form, what sorting or preparation it requires, and whether it meets relevant state and local rules. EPA recommends checking recycler compliance and licensing or certification where applicable.
- Plan selective demolition or deconstruction. Carefully dismantling a building can salvage components for reuse and recycling. EPA defines deconstruction as “the process of carefully dismantling buildings to salvage components for reuse and recycling.”
- Compare the actual destination. Distinguish intact reuse from on-site reuse, recycling into manufactured products, aggregate use, compost or mulch, soil amendment, fuel, and landfill. Consider handling, transport, and whether the intended use displaces new material.
EPA notes that source reduction reduces life-cycle material use, energy use, and waste generation. Avoiding unnecessary material use and preserving components for reuse can therefore be preferable to relying only on downstream processing. See EPA’s guidance on reuse and recycling opportunities in demolition.
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