Using Recycled Industrial

Materials in Buildings 

Greening the built environment. This information 

sheet discusses the use of recycled industrial materials in buildings as an 

alternative to virgin materials and building products. Industrial materials are the 

byproducts of industrial processes. Each year in the United States, industries 

produce over half a billion tons of residuals that are potentially usable materials, 

such as coal combustion products (CCPs), construction and demolition (C&D) 

materials, spent foundry sand, used tires, and slags. Many of these materials 

have chemical and physical properties that make them valuable resources when 

recycled or beneficially reused, but they are often disposed of as waste. The 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to increasing the 

recycling of industrial materials as part of its Resource Conservation Challenge, 

a national effort to conserve energy and other resources and reduce greenhouse 

gas emissions by managing materials more efficiently. Industrial materials 

recycling (IMR) helps accomplish these goals by conserving natural resources and 

decreasing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

www.epa.gov/industrialmaterials
Why Use Industrial 

Materials in Buildings?

Environmental Benefits

Since many industrial materials are used to replace non-renewable 

virgin materials that must be mined and processed for use, IMR 

conserves natural resources and reduces the energy use and pollution 

associated with these activities. For example, substituting coal fly ash 

(an industrial material) for portland cement in concrete saves the energy 

and greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing cement. The 

beneficial use of industrial materials results in less material being sent 

to disposal facilities, which saves landfill space and further reduces 

greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

Economic Benefits

Industrial materials are often less expensive than virgin materials, 

so they make good economic sense for builders and project owners. 

Further, reusing or recycling C&D materials onsite can reduce material 

hauling and disposal costs. These savings, applied to the total project 

cost, make it possible to do more work with the same budget. In 

addition, C&D recyclers will often charge less to accept recyclable 

materials that have already been separated from non-recyclable 

materials—a practice that can be encouraged at the building site by 

using separate containers for various materials. 

Performance Benefits

Some industrial materials, such as fly ash and slag 

cement used as supplementary cementitious material 

in concrete, offer significant performance benefits 

over virgin materials. Other industrial materials, such as 

foundry sand, perform just as well as—and in some cases 

better than—virgin materials in building applications. Coal 

bottom ash used as bedding material for green roofs is lighterweight than alternatives, an important quality in this application. 

Tire shreds can not only provide more effective drainage around 

building foundations due to a greater gap structure relative to gravel and 

dirt alternatives, but also put less pressure on building foundation walls 

compared to the denser and heavier materials that are sometimes used. 

Green Building

Green, or sustainable, building is the practice of creating and using 

healthier and more resource-efficient methods of construction, 

renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. Designing with 

industrial materials and recycling C&D materials generated from projects 

leads to more sustainable buildings. Most green building certifications 

give points for these practices; two of the best-known certification 

systems are the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and 

Environmental Design (LEED)® green building rating system and the 

Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes TM green building rating system. 

An Overview:

Building Applications 

for Industrial Materials

This diagram illustrates a variety of common building applications 

for industrial materials. Note that the availability of specific 

industrial materials can vary regionally. The websites in the 

"Resources for More Information" section of this document may 

provide information on identifying suppliers of industrial materials 

in your region as well as local C&D materials recyclers.

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1 2 Green Roofs & Landscaping 

Green roofs are roofs covered with plants; they 

reduce storm runoff and provide insulation. 

Scrap tires can be used to make rubber tile 

for walkways. Bottom ash can be used as 

bedding material. Clean wood, recycled gypsum 

wallboard, and cardboard can be ground and 

used as soil amendments in both green roofs and 

landscaping applications. 

3 Landscape Furniture 

Benches can be made with plastic lumber 

containing fly ash or with recycled C&D wood. 

4 Building Facing Material 

Manufactured stone, which is concrete mixed 

with aggregates, is commonly used as building 

facing material. Fly ash can be used in the 

production of manufactured stone. 

5 Sidewalks 

Industrial materials can be used to make concrete 

sidewalks, and used tires can be recycled to 

create rubberized sidewalks. Asphalt concrete 

sidewalks can be made with recycled asphalt 

pavement and recycled asphalt shingles. 

6 Ceiling Tile 

Ceiling tile can contain flue gas desulfurization 

(FGD) gypsum (a material resulting from burning 

coal to produce electricity), fly ash, recycled 

gypsum wallboard, or air-cooled blast furnace slag. 

7 Flooring 

Industrial materials can be used in various 

flooring applications. 

7a Carpet backing: Used tires, fly ash, or 

 recycled carpet. 

7b Wood flooring: Salvaged lumber or 

 recycled wood. 

7c Flooring tile: Fly ash, blast furnace slag. 

7d Tile underlayment: Fly ash. 

8 Backfill (Foundation Support) 

Backfill surrounds the building foundation, 

supporting it and providing drainage. Scrap 

tires provide superior drainage, insulation, and 

wall pressure relief. Blast furnace slag and 

recycled concrete also can be used 

for drainage. 

9 Foundation Structural Fill 

Structural fill is an engineered fill that is 

constructed in layers and compacted to a desired 

density. Coal fly ash, bottom ash, slag, and 

spent foundry sand can all be used as structural 

fill. Concrete can be crushed and used onsite as 

structural fill. 

10 Poured Concrete Foundation 

Concrete, which is composed of cement, 

aggregate, and water, is used in a wide array of 

building applications. Industrial materials can be 

recycled in cement and concrete in many ways. 

Here are a few examples: 

• Fly ash and ground granulated blast 

furnace slag can be used as partial cement 

replacements. Using these materials can 

produce stronger, longer-lasting concrete.

• Portland cement itself can be made with fly 

ash, FGD gypsum, foundry sand, recycled 

gypsum wallboard, blast furnace, and steel slag.

• Concrete aggregates can include bottom ash, 

foundry sand, crushed concrete, and blast 

furnace slag. 

11 Insulation 

Air-cooled blast furnace slag can be used to 

produce mineral or rock wool insulation (also 

known as slag wool insulation). 

12 Drywall/Wallboard 

FGD gypsum and recycled gypsum wall board can 

be used to manufacture drywall. 

13 Mortars, Grouts, Stucco 

Mortars, grouts, and stucco contain aggregate 

(sand), binder, and water. Fly ash, foundry sand, 

silica fume, and slag cement can all be used as 

partial cement replacements. 

14 Masonry Blocks 

Masonry blocks are made from cement and 

aggregate. Slag cement, fly ash, or silica fume can 

substitute partially for cement. Bottom ash, blast 

furnace slag, and recycled concrete aggregate can 

substitute for newly mined materials.

15 Base Material 

Spent foundry sand can be used in place of 

natural soil as base material for the building site. 

In cold weather climates, this strategy can extend 

the construction season because foundry sands 

do not freeze as readily as most soils. Recycled 

concrete is also commonly used as base material.

Be sure to consult state and local environmental 

agencies to determine approved uses of 

industrial materials.

production of manufactured stone. 7b Wood flooring: Salvaged lumber o

recycled wood. 

7c Flooring tile: Fly ash, blast fu

7d Tile underlayment: Fly ash. 

8 Backfill (Foundation Support)

Backfill surrounds the building foundati

supporting it and providing drainage. S

tires provide superior drainage, insulati

wall pressure relief. Blast furnace 

recycled concrete also can

for drainage. 

Be sure to consult state and local envir

agencies to determine approved uses o

industrial materials.

3

6 4

7

7a

7b

7c

7d

8

9

10

15

5
 Recycled/Recyclable—Printed on paper that contains at least 50% post consumer fiber.

Case Study

EPA Potomac Yards 

Buildings Maximize the 

Use of Recyclable Materials 

The EPA buildings at One and Two Potomac Yard, located in Arlington, 

Virginia, are prime examples of how buildings can be constructed with 

resource management in mind. The buildings are U.S. Green Building Council 

LEED® Gold certified and contain, on average, 27% recycled content (as per 

LEED® calculations). Environmentally preferable products used in the buildings 

include slag concrete aggregate, fly ash, certified hardwood and softwood 

building products, recycled-content ceiling panels, carpet tile, and gypsum 

wallboard. Portions of the below-grade, poured-in-place concrete structure 

used 35% recycled-content concrete. This concrete contained approximately 

670,000 pounds of slag for aggregate. Further, fly ash was used in concrete 

masonry unit blocks. 

Prior to construction, the project team developed a C&D materials 

management plan. This included tracking the amount of C&D materials 

diverted from landfill disposal once construction commenced. The major 

groups of recycled materials were wood; steel; concrete, asphalt, and 

concrete masonry units; cardboard and paper; and drywall. An estimated 

71% (about 2,000 tons) of the C&D materials generated during the 

construction of One and Two Potomac Yard was diverted from landfills. The 

majority of these materials were separated in material-specific dumpsters at 

the jobsite, which were then taken to C&D recyclers.

The project won several awards for its green design, including the 2007 

White House Closing the Circle Award, a 2007 award for best environmentally 

responsible building from the Northern Virginia Chapter of the National 

Association of Industrial and Office Properties, a 2005 Green ABBIE Award 

from the Arlington Economic Development Commission and Arlington Chamber 

of Commerce, and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Lease 

Project of the Year Award (2004).

EPA’s Industrial Materials Recycling Homepage: 

Provides an overview of industrial materials, their 

benefits, and opportunities for reuse and recycling: 

www.epa.gov/industrialmaterials 

EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines 

(CPG): Offers information about construction, 

landscaping, and other products containing 

recycled content. Though designed for 

procuring agencies using federal funds, these 

guidelines are also useful for the private sector: 

www.epa.gov/cpg

Construction Industry Compliance Assistance 

(CICA) Center: Contains a C&D materials 

State Resource Locator, where you can 

find state environmental agency Web sites: 

www.cicacenter.org 

Industrial Resources Council (IRC): The IRC 

is composed of industry trade associations 

representing coal combustion products, foundry 

sands, iron and steel slag, wood and pulp 

materials, rubber materials, and C&D materials. 

This Web site contains information about 

industrial materials and their applications: 

www.industrialresourcescouncil.org 

The University of North Dakota’s “Buyer’s 

Guide for Coal Ash-containing Products”:

Provides links to suppliers of building materials 

containing coal combustion products: 

www.undeerc.org/carrc/BuyersGuide 

Resources for More Information

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA530-F-08-022

www.epa.gov 

October 2008

Did You Know? 

The American Society for Testing 

Materials (ASTM) has studied and 

evaluated the benefits of using industrial 

materials in civil engineering applications. 

ASTM C 150, ASTM C 311, ASTM C 

595, ASTM C 618, and ASTM C 989 

are standard specifications for using 

fly ash and ground granulated blast 

furnace slag in cement and concrete 

in buildings. ASTM D6270-98 provides 

design guidelines for using scrap tires in 

civil engineering applications. Be sure to 

contact your state and local environmental 

agencies for more information about 

approved uses of industrial materials. See 

the ASTM website at: www.astm.org